


Tomorrow will be kinder

by pupuceplus



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/M, Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2096697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pupuceplus/pseuds/pupuceplus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katniss and Peeta weren't reaped at the 74th Hunger games. 2 years later, an unexpected event will force Katniss to talk to Peeta Mellark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First English is not my native language and I have no beta ( if you want to volunteer Pm me.)  
> Reviews will be extremely appreciate, I didn’t write ( especially in English since a long time.)

**Chapter one**

**Katniss ‘s pov**

I knew the boy was bad news at first sight. There was something about his attitude, the way he looked at me, the way he looked at Prim… I hated the boy the first minute she introduced me to him weeks ago : Khaled Hofferson, 16 years old, two years older than my precious little sister. Her new best friend. As soon as I noticed that Prim talked a lot about him, I asked her to bring him at home. At first I was happy that she made a new friend. I just didn’t expect him to be 2 years older than my sister. I didn’t expect him to have the “ bad boy “ ‘s vibe. My sister was sweet and innocent and that boy… wasn’t.

When I talked about Khaled to Gale and how I didn’t like him to be around my little sister. He laughed at me.

“I’m 2 years older than you Catnip, there is nothing wrong about that. And some girls think I’m a bad boy too… You are just too protective.”

I frowned. He clearly didn’t understand. Khaleb was nothing like him. There was something about him, I couldn’t stand.

“ Your sister is growning up and…” I interrupted him.

“She is only 14 years old! Gale. He is 16. She doesn’t need a boyfriend yet…Or ever.”

He laughed again.

“I think he was her best friend so far.”

“I see the way she looks at him. She is smitten Gale. I don’t like it.” I was toying with the grass. I was upset to no end about Prim and her new obssession: Khaleb.

Gale sighed.

“Okay maybe she has a crush… There is nothing you can do about that. It’s natural Catnip. One day or another, she’ll have a boyfriend, will be engaged and marry… like everyone else”

“Not me” I said. “As for Prim, certainely not with Khaled. If he touches her , he is dead.  She is only 14!”

Gale was annoyed.

“What will you do Catnip? One day or another, it won’t be your job anymore to take care of Prim. A nice guy will marry her. You will be all alone. Did you ever think about that? Maybe it’s time to you to change your mind about your “ I’m not getting married mantra”. It’s getting old.”

“We aren’t talking about me now. But Prim and how to get ride of Khaled. He isn’t good enough for her”.

“Nobody will be good enough for her to you. Katniss. You dislike the idea of marriage. You don’’t like the idea that your sister is growing up! Hell, she is even taller than you now. Things are bound to change. You should open your eyes and see a lot of people around you are waiting for you to accept some changes.” He looked frustrated.

I got up.

“Time to go back” I said. I was upset with Gale. I wanted him to understand. This wasn’t about me. But about Prim’s safety.

Gale sighed again. He looked at me in the eyes before getting up. He looked torn. Like he was debating in his head about something that he wanted to say but didn’t dare to say. I had enough. So I started to walk. Once we reached the fence. I looked at him and said:

“So see you next Sunday?”

“Of course” He smiled. I smiled back.

An half hour later, I entered our house and I heard some laughs. I entered the kitchen and I saw them : Kissing!  My blood boiled.

“Prim!” I yelled. She looked shocked and she was blushing furiously. Khaled looked at me straight in the eyes with an arrogant smile.

“You!” I approached him . I was furious “ Get out of my house!” I screamed.

“Katniss!” said Prim showing her protest.

“It’s okay, Prim. I’ll see you tomorrow at school” Khaled said with a fake sweet smile. He looked at me and smirk. I wanted to strangle him. “ Get out “ I repeated.  He left without any hurry.  Once he closed the door behind him. Prim yelled at me.

“How can you do that to me?”

“ Prim, what the hell. Kissing? That boy…. You should stay away from him. I don’t want to see him around you anymore”.

Prim crossed her arms. “ Don’t tell me who I can be with. Katniss! I’m old enough now! Khaled is my boyfriend now. You should be happy for me.”

“Prim, didn’t you see how he looked at me? Without any respect? How arrogant he is?”

“If you were a bit more kind to him…”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Yes” Prim told me. “ I won’t stop seeing him. It’s not because you don’t want a boyfriend for yourself, I should do the same. I like Khaled very much and I don’t care what you think of him.”

“Primrose” I warned.

“The second you knew, he was a community home boy, you disliked him”.

“It has nothing to do with that” I yelled back. It was true, I didn’t care where the boy came from. If it wasn’t for the boy with the bread, we would probably have been forced to go there too. “ It’s his attitude. He is going to bring trouble”

She frowned. “ You are not my mother Katniss. I do what I want. And Mama doesn’t mind Khaled.”

I rolled my eyes. “ Our mother is such a good example… She is working all day long so she doesn’t have time to think and when she is with us… Well , she isn’t with us really.”

“Mon said , she liked Khaled. It all what matters to me. You are not my mother! She is. So back off. You don’t want to have an happy life. It’s your problem. But I’m going to enjoy what happiness life can give me and khaled makes me happy.”

She left the kitchen and went straight to our bedroom. I sighed. I was so worried for her.

She refused to talk to me for the rest of the day.

The next day, at lunch, I was sitting with Madge.

“I don’t like him either “ Magde told me. “ I did some research. He had been reported for not appropriated behavior in the community home. I asked my father and told me, he was known for stealing from the new kids. But he was each time , smart enough to not get caught and they didn’t have any evidence of the robbery. Then , the new kids said , they did a mistake… It wasn’t him after all.”

“He probably threatened them to shup up or he ‘ll do worse”. I concluded.

“Maybe he really likes your sister?” Madge suggested.

“ It’s more like it  he saw an innocent prey and he is ready for the kill”.

Madge stayed silent. I turned my head toward the merchants section, I wanted to glance at the boy with the bread: Peeta. He wasn’t there this morning at class. I wondered why. I still didn’t thank him for the bread and I was still owning him for saving my life and my  family. I felt shame. There wasn’t a day when I didn’t think about it. It was so hard for me. One day or another I’ll have to thank him and pay my debt. But how can I pay a such debt? I sighed. I noticed that Peeta wasn’t his usual happy self today. He didn’t bring any lunch either. He didn’t talk with his friends as usual. He looked upset, sad and torn. Suddenly he caught me staring at him and he turned his eyes away from mine before I had the time to do the same.

I looked at Madge and faked annoyance. It’s not the first time she caught me staring briefly at Peeta but she never asked me about it. Madge was like that. I saw her staring at Gale sometimes and I never asked her too. I can’t blame her, Gale is handsome. But I knew it was hopeless for her. Gale hated her, just because she was the mayor’s daughter. He never truly accepted that I shared my lunch time with her either.

“Mellark’s bakery had been robbed yesterday” Madge declared suddenly.

“What?” I was surprised.

“That’s why Peeta wasn’t here,this morning. His parents and him where at my dad office with the peacemakers. I heard Mrs Mellark. She screamed at Peeta , like she was possessed by the devil. He was alone when it happened.”

I felt horrible. My heart was racing. “ Did the robbers hurt him?”

“No. It wasn’t like that… It seems Peeta was outside the bakery when it happened. He was outside for about 10 mins… His mother was furious. I’ve seen her beat him. She insulted him in every possible ways. Peeta said he heard some screams outside and went to check if someone was hurt… It looked like it had been a trap. He left the bakery without anybody to watch over it. They robbed all the money, pastries, cakes and bread while he was away”

This was so unfair. I felt miserable for Peeta. The boy with the bread didn’t deserve that. I felt an hatred for the robbers, the people who trapped him deserved to be whipped in public place. I resisted to look back at him. I wanted to help him. I needed to help him. I wanted to talk to him and tell him he wasn’t alone. That, I’ ll be there for him, like he had been there for me when I was eleven. Maybe, it was the opportunity I  needed to pay my debt.

Next Sunday, I thought, when I will trade with the baker,I’ll ask to talk to Peeta. It was long past due anyway.

After school, I was angry again at Prim. She didn’t wait for me. She was probably with Khaleb again. I felt powerless.

Of course, Prim wasn’t at home yet and mother was probably with a patient somewhere else . I was alone and I went uptairs. I needed a nap. I laid on my bed when I saw something behind Prim’s closet.  I told myself, I didn’t care. But I was annoyed by it. I got up and went to see what fell behind the it. I kneeled and it looked like a book. Probably from school. I took it but, it looked like a new fancy book. I opened it. It was a medicine book. A priceless and obviously new medicine book.

I frowned. Then  I noticed there was something else hidden behind the closet. I reached for the bag and opened it. I gasped in shock. The small bag was full of cupcakes. Prim’s favorite. The ones that sometimes, I brought from a trade with the baker.

“What the hell?” I declared out loud.  My heart started to race again. A bad feeling was rising. A new medecine book, that nobody in this house could afford. A Dozen of cupcakes in a bag.

Madge words came back to my mind

“Mellark’s bakery had been robbed yesterday”

I started to panic.

“No way.”  It wasn’t possible. I was overreacting. It was not possible. Not Prim, but that Khaled boy was another history. But still I didn’t want to believe it. My sister wasn’t like that. It was insane to think that…

“Katniss” Prim yelled. “I can explain” my sister said. I didn’t even noticed she had entered the room.

 To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katniss learns the truth. Decisions have to be taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter. I hope you will like it. Please comment. ^^. I know my english is bad. So please be aware, english isn't my native tong and I tried to do my best. Be kind with me.

Chapter 2

**Katniss’s pov**

**“** Explain” I told her with an icy voice.

Prim sat in front of me. She was toying with her skirt. She was nervous and had every reasons to be.

“It’s not what you think…” She started with almost tears in her eyes and my heart began to melt a little but my eyes stayed cold.

“Katniss…” She seemed to have difficulty to come up with a good explanation and my anger came back. I was loosing my patience.

“Prim…” I threatened.

“You need to listen to me and don’t interrupt. It’s not as bad as you think. You may like the idea because it’s awesome. It’s something important and brave.”

I I heavily breathed. Maybe, I panicked for nothing. Maybe, she has nothing to do with what I thought. It’s Prim. She is pure and innocent.

“Do you know the story of Robin Hood?” She asked.

“Of course “ I replied with a very cold voice already anticipating the worst.

“Well, Khaled is Robin Hood.” She said proudly.

I knew it.  That boy is dead.

“So theses” I showed her the bag with the cupcakes “are from the backery. it had been robbed by Khaled… right? What about the book?”

She nodded “ The book, I paid it legally at the book store Katniss…” She said.

“With the backery’s money…” I was so close to loose it. Prim seemed to notice.

“Calm down, Katniss. Listen to me. We are stealing from the rich to give to the poor. It’s what we do. It’s a good thing. Something someone should have done since a long time ago”.

I got up.

“We? What do you mean by We?”  Please, I didn’t want to hear that my sister helped Khaled to do it.

“Yes…We.” She was really proud of what she did. “I helped.” She confirmed.

I fell back on the bed. I didn’t know what was the best: to scream at her, to cry or to fear the consequences… She… I started to picture my little sister being whipped by Cray. I was without a doubt, pale as a sheet now.

“You don’t have to worry. Katniss. We were smarts. Nobody knows it’s us. And some people now have their belly full and with that medecine book I will learn plenty. It’s all for the best.”

I was in shock. She was so naïve. Suddenly I realized how much I failed her. I protected her too much. I needed to know more. What was the extend of her help?

“How did you help?” I asked in defeat.

“You want to know?”

I nodded.

“You won’t be mad at me?” I shook my head. I was lying. I was already beyond mad.

“It was the perfect plan Katniss.” She even smiled while she made her big reveal. “I went to the bakery and told Peeta I had something important to tell him but I couldn’t tell him in the bakery because I didn’t want to be interrupted. It was a secret. So while I kept him away Khaled and his friend took all they could”.

I was devastated. My little sister lured the boy with the bread away from his bakery while her boyfriend robbed him. Then something came to my mind and I had to ask.

“Why Peeta followed you outside? You barely know him.”

“Oh… That was a part of the plan. We planned to rob the bakery two weeks ago and I told Khaled that I’ve noticed that Peeta was staring at you, a lot… So we figured it out . That he had a crush on you… So when I entered the bakery , I told him that I have something important to tell him about you. He followed me immediately. We were right.”

I felt horrible. He wasn’t staring at me because he had a crush on me but because I still didn’t repay him for the bread. I didn’t even thank him. He was patiently waiting…  The whole thing was a nightmare.

“ Don’t worry Katniss. At the end, I didn’t compromise you. I know how you feel about dating. So I lied. I told him, I noticed him staring at you and it was so funny : His face became so red. Anyway I told him you were with Gale, since everybody thinks it’s the case… It won’t change anything…”

I was about to loose my control. Prim rushed her explanation as she continued.

“ But if he was ready to wait. I could be his girlfriend in a few years . He was so confused. He refused. He told me, he was honnored but he wasn’t interested. I have been rejected.” She laughed, probaby thought is was funny. “Well I kept him away enough time. And Voila.” She finished.

I was about to vomit. I rushed to the bathroom. Prim followed me. Worried. At the end, everything stayed in my stomach. I feld bad but I didn’t vomit.

“Are you okay Katniss?” I looked at her and I explosed like a volcano.

“Okay! Am I okay? No Prim. I’m far from okay. You robbed the bakery with that community trash boy! You robbed people who always helped us! The baker always did fair trade with me and Peeta… Oh my…You manipulated a very good and kind person. It’s a nightmare. How could you do that? I’m going to kill him! How are we going to pay back all of this? What if the peacekeepers come and take you to be whipped to death? “ I was shaking with anger ,despair and fear and in my fury I took the first thing near me and threw it.  Prim didn’t loose her control. She was so calm. It annoyed me even more.

Prim approached and tried to confort me.

“It won’t happening. Nobody knows. Peeta didn’t put one and one and we have been careful with Khaled to never go together at the town. Nobody saw us together there. From what I heard at school: Peeta said to the peacekeepers he didn’t see anything. He doesn’t know who robbed him. He has no clue.” She tried to reassure me. I laughed bitterly.

“And the book, you bought” I yelled. I thought my sister was smart but she had been brainwashed by that boy.

“ The book : I paid it legally Katniss” she insisted.

“You don’t understand! Don’t you think the bookstore owner won’t wonder when you suddenly find enough money to buy that kind of priceless book! “

She crossed her arms and shook her head.

“Mother is working a lot, you hunted a lot and trade a lot. It’s not…”

“Are you insane?! You seriously think we have enough money for this…” I blanched at the realization. She didn’t understood all the sacrifices we made for her to get everything she had. The food at the table, the clothes, the shoes. The gifts I gave her. I spoiled her and I never thought… It backfired. I protected her too much from the reality. I wanted her to not have any worry. I put her happiness before everything and she just thought it was… I don’t know: easy for me? What I have done?

“We aren’t the poorest of the seam” Prim told me “ I think I could help and it was time for the rich to pay. With that medecine book, I will be able to help mother’s patients as well and I will become a good doctor. Don’t worry for the bakery. They have enough money. They have plenty food. They are marchants. It’s not the end of world for them. Khaled said our priority is to help the seam kids. Who are starving.”

She had good intentions but I felt the words had been put in her mouth by Khaled.

“We are not…We’ve been lucky that the two previous winters weren’t that cold and I was still able to hunt. I.. “  I felt desperate. Everything was my fault. I failed my sister big time and now she did something unforgivable. It’s a matter of time before  the peacekeepers will discover the truth or that Peeta will understand the trick. And this time… This time… He won’t be as kind and patient. I was not sure I could  forgave myself and when his mother will discover the truth…She will be thirsty for the Everdeen ‘s blood.

I watched my little sister who seemed very confident and proud. She believed she did the right thing. Hell is paved with good intentions and she is manipulated by the devil. I needed to think , to find how to save Prim and I feared what it will cost me to do it.

I didn’t even talk about it to mother when she came back for dinner. I barely ate. I was too stressed and each time someone was passing in front of our house, I feared it could have been peacekeepers… I was unable to talk to Prim either. I was mad at her. Even madder at myself.

After I was done with the dishes. I decided I needed helped and advice. I needed my best friend. I knocked at the Hawthornes’s door. It was late but I knew Gale was at his home at this hour of the evening.

He opened the door. A bit surprise.

“Catnip”

“I have to talk to you. It’s serious.” I didn’t say more because His mothers and siblings was near. He nodded.

He told me to follow him in their tiny garden.

“You look like shit Catnip? What’s wrong?”

I whispered.

“You know about the robbery at the backery?”

He nodded “ Everybody is talking about it”.

 “… Prim is involved… with Khaled.” I said shaking.

It was a shock for him. I explained it all in details. He was silent for few minutes then spoke.

“It’s indeed serious. But it seems they planned this carefully, Katniss.”

I rolled my eyes.

“And the book. How will I explain the book…If if..” My voice trembled again.

“You kept money for it… They have no proofs. I can’t believe they did it.” He was in awe. “ Catnip, remember how many times we discussed about doing what Robin hood at done… And they did it. “

“ To the Capitol. We talked to rob the capitol to give to the poor… Not the merchants”.

He shrugged. “Is it not the same after all? They have plenty we have nothing”.

“I can believe what I hear. It’s the baker, who were always kind to us. She manipulated Peeta. She… Don’t you feel bad?”

“Nope” He answered. “ They have plenty food, money and they don’t risk their life in the mines. I won’t feel bad for them Catnip”.

“Well I feel bad. For me there is a huge difference between stealing from the rich capitol people and the merchants! They are not all bad , like you think.”  At this moment I think about my boy with the bread. How he burnt a bread for me and took a beating for me and still didn’t ask anything for it.  This is what bravery is. What my sister and khaled did…

“ Catnip. You should be proud of your sister, she is trying to change things in this unfair world.”

“No, I’m not proud Gale. You don’t change the world like that, by being  a criminal and by hurting kind people!”

“Sometimes, the means justify the end. Nobody can’t win if we don’t play by their rule. They are stealing for us everyday. They barely paid us. They take our coal.”

I shook my head. “ What now? You are going to help them?” I was angry again. I came for help and I have been lectured. “Besides Merchants are not Capitol people”. I saw it in his expression, he barely saw any difference. The merchants was the upper class of the district 12.

“No. I won’t help them Katniss. I never said that.. But I think they dare to do something… And it’s something to think about it. Now about your sister. I agree with you. She needs to stop. She is too naïve and I’ll have a talk with that Khaled ‘s guy. He can do whatever he wants but to not involve Prim. She is like a sister to me. I’m worried for her too.”

I felt relieved.

“Thanks.”

“ I’ m not sure , it will be enough. Your sister is in love with him… She won’t let go easily and I’m not sure he will either.”

“I hate love” I said. Love is pain and trouble. Nobody needs love. It only brought mysery at the end.

Gale rolled his eyes. “Love can be really good Catnip…”

“Not again” I thought. I didn’t want to have another discussions with Gale about love.

“I need to go. Thanks Gale.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give my best bad boy’s aura when I’ll talk to Khaled. I will threaten to beat him to a pulp if continue to involve Prim in his business. But I have to admit. The boy has guts. He may change things. Who knows?”

“The only thing he will bring is chaos.” I sighed. “ As for me, I will go talk to Peeta.”

Gale glared at me.

“Are you insane? He probably have no clue… What’s the point?”

“I feel bad for him…What happened to him, to his family, is my sister ‘s fault. Maybe If I can bring some help…”

“No! He ‘ll get suspicious…” Gale stated. He was worried about me now.

“I’m not going to tell him “ Hey Peeta, guess who helped to rob your bakery… It’s my sister Gale…. I’m not that stupid.” I replied annoyed. Did he think I was that stupid?

He looked at my confused.

“I just…Well, we trade with his father for years now. I should, at least go ask how is he doing? To discover what he knows and what he doesn’t know.  He could talk to me about the investigation… I need to know… To be sure that , Prim will be safe.”

“This is a bad idea. What if , if it’s other way around that happens Catnip? He could use this and threatened with a chantage! You will be the one trapped.”

If I was sure about something about Peeta Mellark : It was the fact he would never been able to do such a thing. I was alredy in debt and he never asked anything. Not even a thank you. I felt so bad for him. I never thank him, never repaid my debt and now my sister abused him and robbed him. This was going to eat me alive. I had to do something for him. Not only to protect my sister but also to make amends. I just hoped I didn’t overestimated the boy with the bread.

“You ‘ll do it no matter what?” Gale said with worry. He knew me well.

“I have to.”

“If something goes wrong Catnip. You tell me. Understand?”

I nodded.

“I’ll kill him if he touches you. I’m dead serious.” Gale vowed.

“Thank you…”  I wanted to lighten the mood and added “ You should start to train, just in case…” I smirked at him.

“Train for what?” He asked perplexed.

“He won the wrestling championship last year…  if you want to protect me…” I started to laugh. Gale didn’t. He glared at me.

“I’m not kidding, be careful Catnip.”

“Don’t worry. As soon as I know Prim is out of danger. I’ll back off.”

I was about to leave the garden when He took my arm and stopped me. He was dead serious.

“Katniss.. “ He came closer and I felt uneasy. He was looking at me straight in the eyes. Suddenly, Hazelle’s voice told us “ Katniss, the tea is ready. Come. It’s been a long time since you came for a visit” . Gale let go of me and I entered the kitchen.

To be continued.

 

Next time: Peeta’s pov. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's time for Peeta's pov.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ^^. I want to thank you all the people who reviewed and commented. It made my day, you have no idea. I know a lot of you are upset with Prim. But she is young and in love. She thinks she does the right thing and she is unaware of the dangers.  
>  So today’s chapter will be Peeta’s pov and just a the end, back to Katniss’s pov. The chapter had been really hard to write. I had so much to explain. If you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me. Thank you for reading. Next chapter , next week. ^^

**Peeta ‘s pov.**

I was hungry and in my room. It was dinner time and I was forbidden to enter the kitchen where my family had dinner. Well…Not really a proper dinner: Just some stale bread with hot water to make it soft and eatable enough. Worst of all, it was probably the last stale bread left from Saturday. Before the robbery. I should have accepted Delly’s sandwiche at noon, but I wasn’t hungry at all at that time.  My stomatch growled again. At least I had a bottle of water. So I drank.

I felt miserable. The whole weekend had been a nightmare. On Saturday’s night my parents left to visit some friends for one day. Colin and I were left alone to take care of the house and Colin had the day off for the next day. He had planned to see his friends and he talked about visiting our older Brother at his home.

I had expected to have a calm Saturday’s night. After closing the bakery, all I wanted was to pass the evening drawing. But Colin had another idea. When I went upstairs and opened our bedroom door. I couldn’t believed my eyes. Colin was already inside but he wasn’t alone. He was with an unknown naked seam young woman. A prostitute. One of Cray ‘s girls.

“Hey Peeta” my brother said with a huge smile. “I know I’m one month late for your eighteen’s birthday gift but this darling here, cost a bunch and Cray didn’t want to lower her price.”

I blinked and stayed silent. My brother was all happy about his “gift” to me. I wasn’t.

“Here is Vanessa, you have the whole night with her little brother. You will be a man tonight. Isn’t she gorgeous?”

I glared at him.

“Don’t worry, I brought condoms. I know how it is the first time, we can’t control our excitation and it’s hard to pull it off in time. Cray made a discount for them. He’ll have another shippement coming from the Capitol in a few months confirmed. So he was in a good mood.” He explained to me.

“Hi Peeta” Vanessa waves at me and then touched her breast sensually. I felt my body reacted at this. She had a big breast and lovely curves and I couldn’t helped but to stare at her with some desire but it wasn’t how I pictured to loose my virginity : With a prostitute. I wanted to be all about love. Not about lust. I was still dreaming about some miracle: That one day… One day Katniss Everdeen will see me and… I sighed. I will probably died being a virgin, or will loose it to a prostitute … But not today.

I looked at my brother and suddenly I got an idea.

“Thank you brother, it’s a perfect present.”

“You are welcome. Take care of her, show her the Mellark’s dick power.” He grinned. He was about to leave the room when he noticed I took my sketchbook. He frowned.

“Vanessa, can you sit on this chair and take a sensual pose? I need an accessory ” She looked confused.

“You want what?”

“I’ll sketch you. Never done a naked woman yet. It ‘s a good opportunity.”

Colin groaned.

“No, no, I didn’t pay her and Cray a fortune, for you to sketch her Peeta.”

I turned to my brother.

“ You said she was a gift to me. And I’m not going to… You know I want my first…”

He was exasperated when he interrupted me.

“I know you want to be in love…But you are 18 years old Peeta. It’s time! Really, what’s wrong with you? Are you gay?”

Vanessa looked at the ceiling, she was trying to not hear our discussion but it was something impossible. Obviously.

“I’m not! I dated plenty girls.”

Colin rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I counted them all, you dated 15 girls but each of them last  only a day! Some not even a couple of hours” He was frustrated.”You never went beyond kissing.”

“I didn’t fell in love with them. The spark wasn’t there” I replied. The truth was simple. I noticed every girls but none of them could compare to Katniss.

Vanessa coughed and we turned our heads toward her.

“I know a couple of young boys who will be glad to earn some money…” She suggested and  I lost it :

“I’m not gay!” I yelled. “I’m just picky, and romantic…what’s wrong with that? I want to marry the love of my life. I don’t want to become our parents or do what Jared did! I want to be in love!” I hated that I had to explain myself again.

Colin didn’t understand. Colin was a very sexual being. But he wasn’t like me. All was about sex with him and he swore that he ‘ll never fall in love and be as miserable as our father. It was the first thing he said to each girl he dated “ This is temporary sweety. I’m not gonna fall in love with you. I won’t marry you. But I’m good at sex, very good.”

“One day you will be tired to use only your hand Peeta.” He warned me. “One day you will understand how much you were dumb and how much you wasted some precious time. Forget about love, Sex is better without. It never disappoints.”

“I don’t care.” I replied. “Can I sketch her?”

“Fine, but I pay her for sex, so once your done, I’m in charge. You will sleep on the couch. Because I paid her for the whole night. It cost me a lot!”

Vanessa shrugged.

I felt bad for the woman.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” I asked.

“Yes”.

 Later I couldn’t slept. The  couch was old and unconfortable and Colin and Vanessa were noisy all night long. He must have done it on purpose. Probably told her to moan loudly too. I was beyond tired when the morning came. And a morning for us, bakers , started at 4am.

I was yawning. I needed to focus. I had to finish to decorate a big celebration’s cake the mayor ordered. Some capitol people were coming today and he needed a fancy giant cake. He wanted to impress them. Mother had been delighted. An opportunity like that was rare outside of the days around the reaping time. Plenty capitol people arrived at the district to prepare the reaping, a lot of peacemakers came too. The reaping season was always excellent for all us merchants. We sold plenty each time. The half of our incomes for the year were from that period alone.

Today’s cake was priceless. That cake alone represented two weeks of our usual income. Because of that order, my mother bought a laying hen. We were just done to pay back the pigs. It took 10 years to pay them back. But my mother knew how to control the money. The laying hen was a good investissement. She advanced some money already for them. They were in our tiny backyard and their eggs were yummy.

I followed Mr Undersse’s instruction for the decoration. He wanted a cake that represented our district. But not the reality of it. A perfect, ideal district 12. My cake was a fantasy of what the district could have been in differents circumstances.

Then I had to prepare the store, the cupcakes, the pastries, the bread. Colin was still pouting and didn’t helped me.  It was time to open the bakery for a very long day, alone with no time for a break. Mr Undersee was my first customer. He was with his daughter Madge. She was so shy. She just smiled at me but said nothing. The mayor was very happy to see the cake. He loved it. He paid and they left. It was a lot of money. I noted the income in the bakery ‘s incomes book. I sighed. 90% of everything we earned have to be given for the capitol at each end of the month. We had to live with only 10%. So much work for not a lot of money at the end. That ‘s why we had to eat stale bread most of the time.

It was even harder when we had really bad winters. Nobody had enough to buy bread like usual. Jared, Colin and I signed up for tesserae. There was no other choice. We had the pigs to continue to pay. But I knew other people, particulary in the seam had it a lot of worse than us. My stomach were never empty. Unless I was punished. Just like now.

The door opened and Colin entered. Even, he, had been upset with me because of the robbery. I had been so stupid. I have been trapped. My brain had stopped to function correctly once I heard Prim told me , she wanted to talk to me about Katniss.

Colin sat near me. The silence was unbearable. Suddenly he put a small bread on my lap. I looked at him.

“Eat it. Dad saw I took it but didn’t say anything. For you. You must be hungry.”

I took the stale bread.

“I deserve to starve.” I told him.

“ True,You fucked up big time brother”. He sounded dissapointed.

“I know”. What else could have been said.

I took a bite.

“ Mother wants to murder you and cook you so we can have our bellies  full for the next two weeks…” He  announced.

I laughed. It was an old joke between us from that hunger games when a tribute ate another one. The capitol had put a stop and forbade cannibaslim and our mother said “ What? He was starving, I would have done the same. They can’t blame that guy for what he done. It’s their fault.”

My father said nothing as usual. Colin and I looked at each other and wondered if she could killed us and ate us if she had no other choice in order to survive.

“She can’t eat me.” I declared. “She needs me to decorate the cakes and pastries.”

Colin nodded.

“ True. That’s why I have to go to work at the mines. I start tomorrow.”

“What? Why? No!”

“There is no other choice. How will we pay the capitol at the end of the month? The salary isn’t a lot , but each coins will be needed. If I have known I wouldn’t have bought that prostitute”.

“Colin, you stayed at the bakery. I’ll go to mines.”

He shook his head.

“You can’t. Mother doesn’t need me here, like she needs you. You are the one who transformed our pastries and cakes into art… and that’s why we are selling better. We need all the money now.”

I was about to cry.

“I’m so sorry bro”.

“ You can be. What the hell happened? You are smarter than this Peeta. I still can’t understand why you didn’t lock the door? Why didn’t you return to the bakery sooner than that?”

“I’m sorry.” I repeated.

I remembered all too well.  It was one hour and half after Delly’s visit. She had caught Colin kissed Vanessa in the morning. She came to know the truth. I told her. She cried a lot. Delly was in love with Colin. Always had been , always will be and against my advice, a year ago,  she became his “ friend with benefits”. She hoped that one day, Colin would changed and marry her. She accepted Colin rules. But she was hurting so much. Sometimes I thought my brother was an asshole. But he never lied to the girls. Delly made her choice without being tricked but she was my best friend and I felt so bad. There was nothing to do. I just conforted her.  

One more hour left before closing the bakery. I was yawning. I was so tired. I barely had time to take a break to pee. Then, Prim entered the bakery with her sweet and innocent smile. Now, I remembered she looked a bit anxious but I didn’t pay attention. She was Katniss’s sister. I wanted to make a good impression.

“Mrs Everdeen, welcome. What can I do for you?”. I looked around to see if Katniss was near. But there was nobody outside and was disappointed. Prim was alone and this was rare.

“Peeta… can we talk outside for a minute?” She was toying with her skirt. I saw it clearly now. The girl was sweating and her cheeks were red. The more I remembered the more it was obvious, that Prim didn’t look like herself. I was too happy to have her here, too nervous that Katniss might show up, too tired to think straight.

“I have no customers now. You can talk to me here.” I told her with a soft voice.

“Hum… I have a secret to tell you about Katniss… I don’t want any customer to interrupt us”.

“Oh okay..”  The words: Katniss and secret together froze my entire being. “ Let me take my keys…”

“I don’t have much time. It ‘s only for one minute.” She opened the door and was outside. I followed her suit. It was only for a minute and what if Katniss was in trouble?

Prim walked a bit far away from the bakery but I was too nervous. What was she  going to tell me about Katniss?

“What’s going on Prim? Is Katniss alright?”

Prim stared at me worried clearly nervous.

“Yes, she is fine.” I was relieved. “ What do you want to tell me then?”

“I’m not sure, it was a good idea. If she learns that I came to talk to you , she is going to be mad at me.”

Now, remembering it all, I recalled she looked beyond my shoulder a couple of times. Prim grew so much taller the two past year. Katniss looked so petite near her now. It was so cute.

She paused for some long seconds before telling me.

“I know you have a crush for her. I noticed how much you are staring at her when you think she won’t see.”

“Woah …What?” was all I replied. I felt myself blushing. My heart was racing. So much scenarios came to my mind.  Prim  looked at her shoes and stayed silent. Few seconds passed and I was wondering if I should told something : Deny it all? Confirmed? Could Prim helped me ? What if she was going to tell me , Katniss had a crush on me too?  Nothing around existed anymore. I did hear a noise coming from what I knew now : The bakery. But I didn’t paid attention.

“You know, Peeta, my sister is special… She isn’t like any other girls.”

“I know.” I replied quickly. “She is brave with a noble heart”. I wanted to kick myself. Prim was taking so much time to talk. She looked so torn. I let her take her time, like the idiot  I was.

“ About the secret…” She started.

“Yes…”

Another long seconds passed.

“She is dating Gale Hawthorne. I’m sorry Peeta.” What kind of cruel joke it was?

“Oh” was all I said. I felt so bad. My heart was breaking in millions pieces. I was physically hurting. I should have known. I still asked.

“Isn’t he a cousin? Or something?”

She shooked her head and told me that they were best friends and they started to date a week ago. A week ago. I wanted to die. What a coward I have been. I should have gone and talked to her and now it was too late. My whole world was crumbling.

“Well… I have to go back” I announced. I needed to go back and bury my tears , my hope, my future in the secrecy of my bedroom. I considered to take  my dad’s whiskey bottle hidden in the kitchen too. To confort me. To numb me. I was about to leave when she took my hand in her. I was confused.

“I have something else to tell you. Peeta”.

Her hand was so sweaty. The girl was so tense and nervous. Not the usual Prim I’ve known.

“What else?” I asked.

She started to confess her love for me. I was so stunned. I was speechless. She was asking me to wait until she was 18. It sounded surreal. I felt so bad for her. So bad for myself. She was obviously embarassed and so I was. I rejected her kindly. She took it better than I thought. She asked me to walk a bit with her and I couldn’t denied her request. I had completely forgotten the bakery. When I came back. To my horror, everything was gone, money include.

The worst day of my life and I had plenty horrible days in my life already. Thanks to my mother. The bakery had been robbed when I was away. My mother was going to beat me to death this time. My father will not forgive me. Colin… And Katniss everdeen was dating Gale Hawthorne. It was the end of the world.

I  didn’t connect Prim and the robbery immediately. I was in panic. It’s when the peacemarkers started to aks some questions. I understood. I couldn’t believed it. Because it was Prim. Katniss’s sweet little sister. But it was too much a coincidence and the time she took to tell me everything.  She probably wasn’t in love with me either. I had been tricked. I had been stupid and naïve.

“I heard someone screams outside.” I lied. “I left the bakery, but couldn’t find the person… But still heard the screams…”.

Why didn’t I tell the truth? Because I couldn’t believed it. I was surely mistaken. I was going to find out there was another explanation. It was Prim after all. Sweet, shy, innocent Prim. It was impossible. When I came back from the peacemakers with Darious. He wanted to check the bakery for evidence of the crime. I saw Prim, she exited the bookstore with a huge book, in her arms. The bookstore closed behind her. She didn’t look at me. It when all my doubts left.

When my parents came back. It was horrible. My mother was in a blind fury. She took the rolling pin and I let her beat myself. She didn’t beat me since I grew old enough to fight back. But this time , I deserved it and while she beat me, all I could wondered was : Did Katniss robbed the bakery with gale Hawtorne and his brothers when Prim was distracting me?. Mother could have killed me . I didn’t care at that point.  Colin stopped her when he came back. My father had locked himself in their bedroom.

Colin took care of me that night. He was used to do it after all the years when our mother beat us. But he was clearly mad at me. My father didn’t look at me either. My mother was probably plotting murder, until she reminded herself, she needed me to decorate their cakes.

Another night when I couldn’t sleep at all. My body ached so much. It was impossible to move without pain. She beat me everywhere but the face.

“I’m sorry” I repeated to my brother. I ate the little stale bread.

“We are in deep trouble…Bro. Mother doesn’t want to sell the pigs and the layer hen to pay what will need to pay to the capitol at the end of the month.”

I understood. She made plenty sacrifices and hard work to get them after all. It was still an insurance for the future. The pig was pregnant again. It was out of question to sell her.

“I will work as long as it needed to the mines. To help.” Colin added. “Mother called the school, you won’t finish it. She will need you at full time here. The mayor gave her the authorisation to make you able to work full time before your last reaping.  He did us a favor”. In district 12 you can work full time only when you were 18 and you survived your last reaping.

I nodded. I was about to cry. I have been so stupid.

He breathed heavily.

“We will need to eat too… There is nothing left. I mean we got the eggs and in a week a bit new stale bread. But… We can’t afford to spend money. We are in debt… The capitol won’t care if we had been robbed or not.”

I nodded. You don’t mess with the capitol. If we weren’t able to pay them… I heard what happened to the previous butcher’s family who couldn’t paid them back… It wasn’t something you wished to happen. His children had been turn into avox and were  now in the capitol. He lost his store. He and his wife had been sent at district 11.

“How many?” I asked in defeat.

“ Mother doesn’t want to starve. She said you will sign up for at least a dozen more if it what we needed.”

“ A total of 20 then…” I whispered. It was my last reaping year. “It still less than some other…” I declared.

“Yeap, I heard Hawthorne had 42 total and he didn’t get reaped. Anyway the games just finished. We have time before worrying about them again” He wanted to reassure me.

I didn’t want to think about Gale Hawthorne and the hunger games.

“I think I need to sleep.”

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep this time.

**********************************************************************************

**Katniss ‘s pov.**

I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. How could I forgot that? Madge’s words.

_“Peeta said he heard some screams outside and went to check if someone was hurt…”_

He knew… He lied. He knew. Why did he lied? Why did he do that?

I was unable to fall asleep again after that.

 

To be continued.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank every people who is following this story and give an giant hug to the ones who are writing review and comments and gave me kudos ^^ . They are my fuel to write this story. The time has come for Katniss to talk to Peeta in this Chapter and also more drama between the sisters. I hope I won’t disappoint you.

**Katniss’s pov.**

I was hoping that I could talked to Peeta at school but my hopes vanished as our teacher announced that Peeta had a special authorisation to quit school. The reasons for it were obvious and I felt even worse.

Should I quit school too to help him? I could. I didn’t need an authorisation. I was eighteen like others but I already got over my last reaping, unlike some. I got lucky. Very lucky when the new gamemaker : Plutarch Heavensbee declared The hunger games needed a new release date. Sooner, so instead of mid July it was  now  schedule for mid May. Only 10 months separated the two last hunger games. I couldn’t believed my own ears when it was announced. But it was bad luck for the one who were still 17 at the time. They had been reaped at the age of 17 for a second time. But I was already 18. It had been my last reaping and I wasn’t reaped. I was free.

Madge too. We were two very lucky girls. I didn’t think about the others at the time the ones who were still 17. Prim wanted to celebrate, my mother too and of course the Hawthorne. Madge and I and some others lucky kids were allowed to finish the school if we wanted. I accepted. I didn’t want to work at the mines yet.  To stay in school had also two majors advantages: I kept free time to hunt in the late afternoon and I could kept an eye to my baby sister a little longer. I sighed because I  still couldn’t stopped the mess that happened after all.

If I wanted to  talk Peeta, I will need to talk to him at the bakery. I needed to hunt squirrels to trade them with the baker and then I could asked to talk to Peeta for a minute. I grimaced at the idea: A second Everdeen girl who will want to talk to him outside the bakery for a minute. I didn’t have another choice.

I felt so very nervous at the idea to speak with him. I needed to explain what happened. I didn’t know if he was able to understand. What price he could demanded for his silence? It was even worst because I never thanked him for the bread that saved my life. I should have gone to thank him long ago. Now the whole thing was tainted. My thanks would looked fake and forced. Not genuine. I was in trouble. It felt horrible to know how much power Peeta Mellark would have over my life now. He could do anything he wanted to my family. I was so afraid.

Anyway, I needed to protect Prim. She deserved to be punished but she couldn’t be whipped or worse. She did one stupid mistake and I was going to act on it. I was going to do whatever it took to protect her. Today I was the prey and Peeta mellark was the hunter.

As soon as school was over, I spotted Prim.

“I’m going for a walk with my friends” She declared.

“Oh no you don’t. You come back with me at home.” I ordered.

“No. I promised my friends” She protested. I took her by the arm.

“I don’t care what you promised. You are not going. End of discussion”. I glared at her.

“You aren’t my mother Katniss. Let me go”  But I didn’t let her go. I gripped her tighter.

“You are hurting me” she complained.

“Good!” I replied. “I’m not your mother Prim. But if you don’t go with me now! I promise that I will tell everything to Mom. About the robbery.” I threatened.

“I trusted you when I talked to you Katniss!” She whinned.

“Your mistake not mine. Come with me now.” I seethed.

Then I heard his ugly voice: “Everything is okay Prim?” Khaled said as he looked at me with a challenging look. He was coming closer slowly. If only I had my bow with me. I would have shooted him straight in the head. I hated him. Prim blushed and it annoying me to death.

“Did you told him that I know?” I whispered to her. At my words she panicked. She didn’t. “Well Prim, if you want me to keep my mouth shut, tell him you need to go back at home”.

I let her arm go. Khaled was now near her and he put his hand around my little sister waist.  I was about to lash out on him when Prim declared in a sweet voice.

“Everything is okay Khaled. I can’t come today. I forgot I have to take care of Lady’s milk today.”

“Oh “ He said. He didn’t looked convinced. He watched me unimpressed and smirked before kissing my sister on the mouth without shame. I was stunned. So much arrogance and I had to stay calm in front of this disgusting scene to not make things worse.

“I will miss you so much baby” He said once their lips parted. Prim was red as a tomato with a large stupid smile placated on her face and stars in her eyes.

“I will miss you too.”

“Prim, we have to go now.” I recalled. We left.  Prim glared at me. We didn’t talk until we arrived at our house. Mom wasn’t there as usual.

“ I hate you Katniss! You are ruinning my life!” Prim yelled at me. She ran upstairs and slammed the door of our bedroom. I was so pissed at her. I didn’t recognized her at all. I joined her few minutes later with some food and water. I put them on the small table we got last year.

“I’m not hungry” She muttered.

I didn’t answer and didn’t look at her. I went toward the door, opened it and closed it but this time I had taken the key and locked her inside. As soon as she heard the click, she screamed:

“Katniss! How did you dare! I hate you! I hate you”

I wanted to be sure she was going to stay at home while I was going to hunt and then talk to Peeta.

One hour later I came back from the forest with two fat squirrels. I was so proud because it didn’t take long. I got lucky. But the more I approached the bakery, the less comfortable I was. They will close soon. I couldn’t delay the discussion. I was nauseous but I didn’t want to look nervous. I put my best scowl on my face. I went to the back of the bakery like usual. Mr Mellark arrived few seconds later.

“Hey Katniss” He greeted me with a tired smile. The man probably didn’t sleep much. I felt even more guilty.

“I have two big fat squirrels to trade” I declared.

“Oh Katniss…” His face fell. “I’m sorry, I have nothing to trade for them. I probably won’t be able to do some trades… You probably know, we got robbed. It’s a very difficult situation for us”.

I nodded. I was unable to say a word. All of this happened because of my sister and his evil boyfriend. They didn’t deserve such a fate, the Mellarks, except for the Witch, they were good people.

“I’m sure the butcher, will appreciate them “ He suggested.

I considered giving them for free to help but it would probably looked suspicious. I was known to be hard in business.

“Is Peeta here?” I finally asked. “ The teacher told us he had to quit school.” I explained. My heart sped up but I’m pretty sure it didn’t show in my face. I was good when I had to hide my emotions.

“Yes, he’s here. Peeta!” He called him. “ Someone wants to see you, come here.”. I gulped.

The baker left when Peeta arrived. My heart was about to explode. He didn’t looked really surprised but confused.

“Katniss” He spoke. It was the first time I heard his voice and he was saying my name. His voice was deep and soft.

“Peeta” I replied. I’ve never been so close to him either. He was tall but less than Gale but a lot more muscular and broad. I felt very self concious of our proximity. I eventually dared to look at him and something inside me broke. The way his eyes were watching me. It was nothing like all the other times I caught him staring at me. The eyes no longer seemed shy or embarrassed nor caring. They were suspicious eyes, with a touch of sadness and betrayal.

It was when I realized that Peeta thought I was involved with the robbery too. I completely froze. I should have been furious he could dared to think I was that kind of person. I wasn’t. He should have known. But it was logic, Prim didn’t look like a thief either and still she was no innocent. I couldn’t helped but scowl at him.

“ Well… I need to go back” He declared. Certainely because I wasn’t able to speak and wasn’t friendly either. His eyes became colder and it was when I knew. If I didn’t force myself to talk to him, to explain to him what really happened and why. I will loose the boy with the bread for good. I didn’t know why it was so important for me to not let this happen. So I spoke.

“I need to speak with you Peeta. I didn’t…” It was so hard. The baker was still around. I had to be careful about my words.

Peeta grabbed my hand and just said “ Come with me”. I nodded as we started to walk away. His hand was so big, so warm, so soft. I followed him and I heard him tell to his father that he will be back. Mr Mellark answered but I didn’t pay attention to his answer. My heart was racing again, Peeta was holding my hand and I was scared to death because I could sensed my life would never be the same again.

We stopped when we reached an empty square surround by trees. Peeta looked around and started to walk again, my hand was still in his, I followed him. He let go of my hand and I missed his warmth. We sat behind a huge tree. Nobody could guessed we were here. I didn’t even know this place. The silence between us was awkward. He was waiting for me to talk, the only problem was : where did I start? His stomach growled and broke the silence.

“You are hungry “ I stated like an idiot.

“Well I didn’t had a proper meal since the robbery”. His voice was a bit cold. I felt immediately guilty. “We don’t have much anymore and Mom is punishing me. I barely ate anything since.”

I remembered the squirrels I had in my bag.

“You should take the squirrels. I brought them for a trade but…” I felt stupid I thought they could still trade something for it. Even if I was ready to lower my price because of what happened and hoped it could have helped them.

“No… you can’t give them to me. Not only it will get suspicious, but my mother won’t ever accept charity or help.It will enrage her just at the thought.”

And like that, I learnt that I shared a common point with the witch. I wasn’t happy with it at all.

“You don’t have to give them to your parents” I suggested “You could cook them for yourself once you are alone.”

He looked at me like I’ve grown another head.

“What?”

“I don’t know how to cook that…” He gestured to the bag.

I raised my eyebrows, I was confused.

“What do you mean? You are a baker…”

“I know how to make bread , pastries and cakes but I have no clue about average cooking. Especially meat. I’m not a butcher, I would never known where to start.” He was embarrassed that I assumed that because he was a baker he knew how to cook everything else.

“Oh” I felt out of place. I knew nothing about him after all. He tried to explain:

“Mother cooks and she teached us how to cook. It’s funny when you think about it , she is a decent cook but she can’t achieve a decent cupcake.”

“Oh” I repeated. I was so good at this: “Talking”. I needed to be more eloquant. His stomach growled again more loudly this time and I cringed. The guilt washed over me again.

“I’ll cook them for you” I declared without thinking before  pronouncing the words.”

He was suddenly speechless at my proposition.

“I’ll make a squirrels stew.” I suddenly got up. What the hell I was doing? And from his look it was exactely what he thought too.

“I will need a couple of hours to cook it. No make it three, the meat will be more tender.”

“Katniss I thought...” He started but I interrupted him.

“Can you be here at 10 pm?” I asked nervously ready to bolt.

“Yeah. I…”

“Good, we’ll talk them while you’ll eat” and then I litterally ran away. I ran like I was chased by a bear. I didn’t even turn back to look at him. I ran wondering what the hell possessed me? Now I had to cook a squirrels stew for Peeta. I made a promise. He needed to eat. He was starving and he was tired: That was the least I could do for him. He needed his belly full for me to be at peace.

I entered our house and my mother was here.

“Hi Mom” that when I noticed she didn’t look pleased with me.

“You locked your sister inside your bedroom? Prim was crying when I came.” I heard Prim coming from upstair. She had puffy eyes. But I didn’t feel any guilt.

I didn’t want to tell my mother what Prim did. I didn’t know how she could reacted to the news. She could broke and closed off again from the shock besides it was a threatening card I could hold against her for now, and I needed to keep it.

“I didn’t want her to go out with her boyfriend” I revealed “ I caught them kissing, at her age it’s innapropriate “ I added.

My mother gasped.

“Prim! You are too young to have a boyfriend!”

Prim blushed and glared at me. In fact they were hatred in her eyes. Mom didn’t loose anytime : “Prim we have to talk about this.”

Prim rolled her eyes. But my mother was old fashionned , no dating before a respectable age, which for her was when a girl was  over her  last reaping which I was. But she never had to worry about that for me before, because, she knew I didn’t want to date, or marry ever. But Prim was another story. At best now, If Prim and Khaled wanted to see each other , they will need a chaperone. I smiled happily . Why didn’t I think about this sooner?

“That’s so unfair” Prim whined. “You never said anything about Katniss and Gale and they are rumors about them…”

“Rumors that I know are false Prim. You know how your sister is and Gale is a young man I trust and I know Hazelle raised him to be a gentleman.”

“He had been seen at the slag heap, Gale is not a saint” She answered back.

She looked at me while she talked about Gale and his conquests. She probably thought it would hurt me to know. I already knew. Gale was handsome and I wasn’t stupid. Yes, I felt a bit jealous and disgusted when I first learnt about it. Gale was my best friend and I was afraid one of theses girls could take him away from me. One day, one will succeed. But Gale and I didn’t have a romantic relationship. It reminded me that Gale talked a lot about change , love and the idea of marriage recentely. Maybe, he had a girl in mind. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t like the idea to loose my best friend and my hunting partner. Gale and I were inseparable. It had been hard for me when he had to go work at the mines. I missed our hunts during the week. Only the Sunday were left for us. Gale was right. I hated when things were changing. To be honest, I had no clue if I could behaved the day he’ll tell me, he won’t be able to come on Sunday anymore because he met the one.

“Don’t change the subject Prim” My mother scolded her. “ You ‘ve grown a lot these past two years… You look older than you are. Your breast and curves are even bigger than Katniss now.”

“ Could you talk about this somewhere else?” I asked annoyed. “I have to cook a stew”.

My mother nodded at me. “ Let’s go upstairs Prim.” Then spoke to me “Once I’m done, I’ll come to help”.

“It’s okay mom, have a rest. I can handle this myself”

“You sure?”

“Definitely, go talk to Prim. The boy had his tongue inside his mouth “.

My mother saw red “Prim” She yelled.

“I hate you Katniss! I hate you”. Prim screamed at me. My mother watched at her like she was possessed by the devil then looked at me. She understood it to. Prim had change and not for the better and for once, I hoped she was going to share responsabilities for her with me.

An hour later Prim were still pouting in our bedroom. I could tell my mother was worried. I thought she was going to talk to me but instead she sat on her favorite chair, looked at Dad’s picture and felt lost. Here went my hopes.

Another hour passed and she still hadn’t moved. Prim came to the kitchen but said nothing. I was cooking. I wanted the stew to be perfect and even added some potatoes. Then she left without a word. She played with Buttercup. Another card I have, I could threathened to death that damn cat and be serious about it, if I needed her to obey me .

The stew was almost ready. Mom got up to eat. I felt relieved. She wasn’t gone too far away. I served the soup and I noticed Prim didn’t help me for anything. I felt exhausted by her behavior.

“ Why don’t you served the stew you just cooked?” She asked.

“Because it’s not for us.”

“What?” She blurted surprised and my mother seemed a bit confused too.

“It’s for Peeta Mellark. Since the bakery had been robbed they don’t have enough food anymore”. I stated.

“I heard about it,  what a disaster for them” my mother said “ The baker always does such a good bread, I proud of you Katniss.” She added.

Prim had a thight smile “Yes me too, and it’s not really like you to cook for a stranger…”

“Peeta was in my class… Did you know he had to quit because now they needed him to work full time of the bakery?” I tried to guilt trip her.

“There are other places a lot worse than the bakery to work : Like the mines. Peeta won’t die at his bakery… Like Dad.”

I got up

“Don’t talk about Dad! Just don’t!” I yelled. Dad would be absolutely desperate to see who Prim became because of a single boy. I wished he was here. He sure would have known how to handle her.

“I’m not hungry anymore” She declared and got up.

“Mom” I said but it was hopeless. She was gone. We shouldn’t have mentionned Dad.

I ran after my sister and caught her in the stairs.

“Prim. This is insane. We can’t keep doing this!”

“I trusted you Katniss. I told you everything. I thought you were going to be proud and all you do is making my life an hell.” She replied. “Now you are cooking for them? They will get suspicious. You will put me in danger! “

“I’m not! I don’t cook for the mellarks, only for Peeta. He was starving today”.

“And since when do you care for Peeta Mellark? You and him aren’t even friends.” She stated.

I was about to say something when she spoke

“Oh it’s because you know he has a crush on you?”

“No, it’s not that! He doesn’t have a crush on me! I cared because unlike you I feel guilty”. I told her. She looked at me with a suspicious look.

“ He’ll know why you are doing that! It’s too dangerous Katniss please” she whined.

“Maybe it’s a risk I’m ready to take.” I Lied and immediately regreted it. I hurt her badly.

“You are not my sister anymore. The sister I know always protected me.” She was in tears and she ran to our bedroom. I was about to cry as well.

The last hour passed and the stew was now ready to be served. I tasted it and I had outdone myself. I was calmer now. I needed to be , because I was going to face my  fate. It was in Peeta’s Mellark hands now.

I left with the stew. it was still hot. He was already there and he seemed surprised that I came. So much for the trust.

 His hairs were wet. I never seen him like that. It was cute I thought. He looked different. I just couldn’t tell how different. The stew smell good and he looked at my arms which were holding the pot with hunger in his eyes. He licked his lips and I suddenly  shivered. It was odd because the wind wasn’t cold. We were in summer.

‘Hi Peeta. Dinner’s ready “ I said clumsily.

“Hi Katniss” He answered then he smiled. A large genuine, dazzling smile that reached his eyes. I felt a burst of warmth stroke me . Of course, like I said it was a hot summer night after all.

 

To be continued.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 5 ^^. Here is more Peeta and Katniss ‘s interaction.   
> A big big hug to my readers , don’t hesitated to comments ^^ It makes me write faster too . I posted this chapter with a day earlier than I planned. Next chapter not before Friday.

**Katniss’s pov**

Peeta was eating eargerly.

“It’s so good Katniss” He said between bites.

“Thank you” I replied uneasy.

“I didn’t know you could cooked so well… It’s better than what mother does “.

“I had to learn by myself. When my mother was…” I hesitated “ill, I wanted Prim to have good tasty meals”. I watched him winced at the word “ Prim”. I needed to explain now.

“You know” He started “ I think I could eat your cooking for the rest of my life, it’s so yummy”. He said with enthousiasm.

I gasped in shock. Did he just told me he wanted me to cook for him for the rest of his life? Was it what I’ll have to do to protect Prim?

“Ah… Oh…” I Stuttered. “Okay, if it’s what you want…” I sighed. It could have been worse I guessed. Or was it just the beginning of what he wanted from me?

He coughed and looked at me with shock.

“What? What did you say?”

“I said yes, if it’s what I need to do for you to protect Prim from you.” His face fell and he looked hurt? Disappointed? I knew it! It wasn’t enough. It was only the beginning. He was going to ask for more.

“Of course. I know it’s not enough…”I added quickly to not upset him more.

He sighed.

“So this what that stew is about?” He asked. “I thought… Nevermind” He sighed again. He put the pot down then looked straighted into my eyes. “You don’t have to Katniss. I’m not that kind of person. Actually I feel a little insulted that you think that about me.” I was so confused I didn’t replied to him. He clearly was frustrated with me now. But what could I said? What did I do wrong? He looked hurt then he seemed to recover and spoke again :

“Katniss. I need to know… Because I still find it’s a bit unbelievable that Prim… And…”

I interrupted him

“Oh of course, let me explain. It’s why I’m here…” 

I explained. I guessed it was a bit messy at the start because I’m not really good with words. I  told him about Khaled, about how much I failed to protect my sister. How much she changed and I was unable to understand her anymore and I told aboutt the Robin hood strategy: I didn’t went into the details. I didn’t want to upset him more with that idiot theory of Prim about him having a crush on me. I thought it would be easier if he thought that Prim didn’t go into details when she told me”

“Robin Hood?” He said in a bitter voice when I was done.

“I know this is so wrong... And that khaled ‘s boy is not  a Robin Hood at heart… I’m so lost. I don’t know what to do anymore. In my head, Prim was and would always be the pure, sweet and innocent little sister I adore. Now…” I surprised myself because I confided about my feelings and It wasn’t my style to confide to a complete stranger. But Peeta was a good listener and I let myself carried away. I had to be more cautious.

Peeta was silent. He was thinking deeply. Probably at what he was going to ask me to make amends for Prim. I was so nervous.

“What’s your plan?” He asked and I was dumbfounded. Why did he ask me to choose my own fate? I shook my head.

“It’s up to you, Peeta. I know it’s a huge debt and it won’t fix all what your family lost but I’m here. If I have to be your servant for the rest of my life so be it.” My voice trembled a little but my stare was steady. His face fell again.

“You don’t understand Katniss” He whispered.

He moved closer and took my hands in his, softly. My tiny hands when completely covered by his. He was so soft. He didn’t put any pressure to them. I didn’t  know why it felt like it was a protective gesture from his part, a way to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I was confused.

“Katniss. You don’t have to pay for your’s sister ‘s mistake. It’s not your fault.” I was about to reply when he clearly showed me to not interrupt him. So I obeyed. He continued.

“There are three persons who are at fault. Khaled, Prim and me. I wasn’t careful and I should have not leave the bakery for so long. So there are only three persons who deserved to be punished and you are not one of them. You are not at fault and you are not going to pay for something you didn’t do.”

I panicked.

“No Peeta. I have to protected Prim, she can’t be whipped or send to jail or send in another district. Please, I’ll do everything…Everything… My hands were shaking. He carressed them slowly  in what seemed a reassurance’s touch. I really was at lost. I didn’t understand him at all. Wasn’t he supposed to be mad at me?

He smiled softly.

“Katniss, I won’t tell about Prim. I already lied and I won’t change my version nor my mind about it. She is safe. I won’t go the peacekeepers and told them what really happened. I won’t do that. She did a mistake. She was clearly manipulated. She deserves a second chance and she needs to understand how wrong what she did is.”

I nodded. He was so kind with me. He was so gentle. I felt disarmed for some seconds but I had to remind myself to not be that naïve. I knew how the real world worked.

“What do you want then?” I asked with heavy breathes.

“The same thing as you… to put Prim out of danger. She isn’t safe with that Khaled’s boy and it’s a matter of time before they try to rob someone else again… I want to help you.”

Unbelievable. Absolutey unbelievable.

“You want to help me?” I stated incredously.

“Yes.”

“Why?” I freed my hands from his. “What’s  the trick? Nobody is that sefless?” I scowled again.

He rolled his eyes.

“Because I care! I like Prim and I’m a responsible grown up young man who like to help and there is no wrong to accept a little help for just what it is : Help.” He was annoyed and frustrated. I immediately thought about the bread he gave me. I felt shame.

“You know if people were less selfish and less proud about ridiculous things, the world could be better.” He was a little angry now and I felt a bit insulted too.

“Now, I’m not a saint Katniss and once Prim is out of danger, I will ask her to make amends but I’ll ask for a fair punishement. Just for her to learn that she can’t get away with everything just like that. I won’t ask for something like her to be my slave… I mean…” He shook his head again like he couldn’t believed it was almost what I proposed to him earlier.

Peeta Mellark was a sweet and caring guy but he was also impressive when he was upset. He wasn’t boyish anymore , more like a man who knew to take responsabilities and important decision.

“You can’t protect Prim by taking blame for her and be punished for her. Not only it’s unfair for you but it’s a great disservice you do for her as well in the long run.”

And he was wise too.  I crossed my arms.

“I know… I was planning to punish her you know.” I couldn’t helped but feel a bit defensive.

“It wasn’t what I meant.” He smiled. “So what are we going to do about Prim now?”

“We?” I replied with surprise.

“Of course. I’m fully involved now. So you have a plan?”

I was taken aback. Could I refused Peeta’s help? I didn’t want him to change his mind. It was better to not offense him more than I already did. For Prim’ s sake.

“I don’t… Actually, everything happened so fast. I just… I don’t know I admitted.” I didn’t like to admit my weakness about this situation.

“Don’t worry. We will find out something.” He sounded so confident and in a strange way seemed really excited too. “ First tell me everything you know about Khaled. To conquer Prim back, we need to know everything about our enemy.”

I almost  laughed but he was dead serious. I didn’t knew much about Khaled so It didn’t take long to tell him what I knew about him.

“A community home kid?” He said.

I nodded.

“I don’t know much about him. I guess I didn’t want to listen to Prim much when she talked to me about him and my first meeting with him had been a disaster… So…”

“ Okay, I will do some researches about him. I know a girl who is working at the community home.”

“Oh” I didn’t know non Capitol employee could worked there.

He continued

“ I wanted to work there as a benevolant. I wanted to teach the kids to draw. You know for them to have something fun to do. She didn’t get the authorisation but we stayed in touch. She is a nice girl.”

He wanted to be a benovolant at the community home? I suddenly thought about the girl:

Did he dated her? I knew nothing about Peeta Mellark. Did he have a girlfriend? I remembered he was often seen with the shoemakers’s daughter. I suddenly was concerned about something and I had to ask him.

“Peeta, You didn’t mentionned Prim to someone else right?”

“Of course not Katniss.”

 “No even a girlfriend?” I had to ask. “Someone you felt you could trusted…”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” He blushed a bit. It was cute. It seemed I was able to embarrassed him. and I felt very pleased with the feeling. “ I know how to keep a secret Katniss.” He had dead serious, the rosy cheeks all gone already, like he never blushed at all and I imagined things.

I felt relieved. “Sorry I had to ask.”

“I understand. We don’t know each other after all.”

I nodded.

“ I’ll ask my contact for more informations about Khaled. I want to know how smart he is. Or if he has a weakness we could use. Who he is exactely. Then we will know what we need , we will be able to elaborate a good plan.”

I gulped. Why did I have the impression he was used to that sort of things?

“You sounded like you know your business.” I stated.

He grinned at me.

“Have to with my mother and Colin fucked up a lot too. I had to help him a lot actually.”

“Oh”… I didn’t know what else to say.

“You should try to gain back your sister trust too. As long as she’ll see you as an enemy and not an ally. You won’t be able to do much for her.” He suggested.

“ This is going to be hard… She hates me.” I sighed.

Suddenly his eyes lit up.

“I have an idea. Lie to her. Let’s use what you wanted to do and what you thought I’ll ask for you in return. Tell her you did it to protect her. It’s an half lie after all when you think about it. I was your intentions. Use it to return to her in a good grace.”

The idea was good. It could worked. It was scary how fast he could schemed a plan and disturbing too. Peeta Mellark was a complete mystery. He could be kind and boyish. He could be determinated and acted like a grown up and wise person and he could be a scary complotist. He was a complete enigma and seemed to be hard to predict and I didn’t mind the challenge he seemed to represent. He was damn interesting.

“Okay… But what will I tell her?”  I wasn’t so good at scheming things.

A suddenly cocky grin appeared on his face.

“Tell her I asked you to cook me a dinner for the rest of my life” Then he winked at me. I felt my cheeks grew warmer.

I couldn’t repressed a smile. Peeta Mellark was also a charming opportunist.

‘So I’ll have to cook for you…”

“It will give you an excuse to meet me every evenings so we can talk about our strategy.”

I frowned. So I’ll have to feed him after all.

“Don’t worry Katniss. I won’t ask for something elaborated like you made me tonight and when I ‘ll be able to : I’ll pay you back.” He said with a genuine voice.

He was so honest. He could have used the situation at his advantage but he didn’t.

“You fed me once” I told him. It was about time. I should have thanked him before.

“What?” At first he seemed confused but then he understood.

“Oh you meant about the bread… when we were kids.”

I nodded.

“It saved my life Peeta. Thank you” I eventually said it. It was easier than I thought.

“You don’t own me anything Katniss. I’m glad I could helped you.” He replied. Of course. Peeta Mellark wasn’t that kind of person. He just wanted to help…

“So let me help you too now. I’m going to feed you until your witc.. Hum, You mother feed you again properly. I don’t want to hear your stomarch growls…”

His entire face softened and he looked boyish again. His smile was so tender and his eyes seemed so happy that for no reason in particular my heart sped up and I felt that warmth feeling again in my chest.

He tended his hand for me to shake, he was still smiling like a kid who had the best gift of his entire life.  We shook our hands and he declared.

“I’m gladly accepted your help then. If it”s what it is Mrs Everdeen”.

“It what it is” I confirmed even if a part of me was still thinking I at last owned him that.

*************************************************

**Peeta’s pov**

 Later I was back at my room and I just had the best day of my life. I talked to Katniss Everdeen, she cooked for me and she was even more adorable than I thought. I have to admit she was a lot on her defensive ‘s side too but that was normal because of the circumstances.  I dreamed about that moment a lot and it was nothing like I dreamt. It was so much better.  I thought maybe there was a chance I could grew out of love once I talked to her. But in fact, it was like my crush became a bit bigger. Her squirrels stew was delicious. Her scowl so cute and her smile and laugh so beautiful. 

I sighed dreamly. I ‘ve got it bad :I have to admitted.  I was really happy that I was going to help her with Prim. That Khaled had to be arrested. I vowed that I will do everything  to protect Prim for her and to teach him a lesson.

I looked at the clock. Colin wasn’t back yet and it was almost midnight. I hoped everything went fine and I prayed he didn’t get into a fight for his first day. He probably went to see a friend after his work. He was doing everything he needed to avoid Mom. At this hour, my parents were already in bed. So he should be home soon.

 I thought about Katniss again. It was perfect. She even blushed. So cute. She was so perfect. Of course, not everything had been that perfect. I was still a coward after all. I didn’t ask her about her boyfriend : Gale. I had the opportunity when she questionned me about having a girlfriend…But I chickened out. Prim already told me and… it wasn’t my business. It also hurt too much. I didn’t want to know more about it. I didn’t want to acknowledge the relationship existed and instead I acted like there was no Gale Hawthorne in the picture. I was so good at denial when I needed to be. I couldn’t wait to meet her again. Tomorrow I would have to go speak with Abby, the girl from the community home too. I will go during my lunch time.

Eventually the door opened and Colin entered. To my surprise he was clean.

“You already took a shower?”  I expected to see him with coal dirt from head to toe.

“Took it there” He added. He looked tired but not so much.

“At your friend?”

He shook his head. “Don’t be stupid. I wouldn’t have wanted to dirt my friend ‘s house”

“Oh right..” I said.

“I took it at the mines.”

“Oh I didn’t know they had showers there?”

“ They don’t” He winked at me and it was when I realised I didn’t want to know that particular story.

He took off his jeans then his neck tie and his shirt to put an old T shirt.

“Can’t believe you went there with the tie…” I mused.

“It was my first day. I had to do a good impression.Right?”

I nodded.

“Sorry bro, I ate at my friend and couldn’t brought something for you. I’ll  try to bring something for you tomorrow.” Then he looked at me with a suspicious look.

“You don’t look like you are starving…” He noted.

I grinned like and idiot thinking about Katniss. I took the pot Katniss left me because she made too much, from under my bed. I hid it just in case Mom decided to kiss me goodnight. I laughed at  my own joke.

“Got a delicious stew for dinner.” I said proudly.

He looked at it .

“You won’t ceased to amazed me. Let me guess another secret you won’t share?”

“Yep” I nodded. “ You will take the rest for your lunch tomorrow.” I told Colin. I felt so bad for him. I knew he didn’t have much to eat at lunch. Of course, Mom gave him something to eat  but with the robbery. It couldn’t have been much.

“Really?” He grinned with such an happiness in voice. “But what will you eat? I know mom gives you barely nothing. Just enough for you to not faint.”

“It ‘s okay. I ate a lot tonight and I will have some more tomorrow evening.”

He raised an eyebrow but he knew it was hopeless to ask.

“How was your first day?” I asked. I felt so bad that he had to work at the mines. It should have been me to risk my life down there.

“Actually. I like it.”

“No way?” I said stunned.

“ I was surprised too. But I got a fine day. You don’t have to think down there. You just do what they ask. The guys don’t like to talk and It was perfect.” He told with a smile.

Colin hated to work at the bakery , especially the counter shift. He wasn’t social person and unlike me who liked to chat with the customers a lot, Colin forced himself to be amiable.

“You didn’t mind the coal dust? The darkness?”

He shook his head.

“I prefered coal than stitcky dough “ He made a grimace at the thought of it. “Plus there is a huge perk…”

“Which one? Cute girls?”

“No. Mother is not behind me. She isn’t stressing me. She isn’t bitching every damn time she can, that I’m a piece of shit. It was relaxing you know. I did my work, it wasn’t so hard. They didn’t give me something to difficult to begin with. I was alone most of the time. I liked it.”

He looked like he really appreciate to work there.

“The chief at the end of the day told to me that I did a good job and he appreciated my hard work. Didn’t think I outdid myself. I just… well… did what they ask. “ He had a large proud smile. He was really happy.

“For the first time of my life, I got congratulated at the end of my day at work.” He was elated and he looked like he couldn’t believed it. “I like this work. Maybe I’ll change my mind after a few days but so far. I liked it.” He grinned.

“Congrats. It was totally unexpected.”

“ So true. But anyway you are right about something.”

“Which one?”

 Tomorrow, I’ll start to pay attention to the girls who are working there.”

I shook my head and laughed. After few minutes he laid down in his bed.

“Did you meet Gale Hawthorne?” I asked. I wanted to know if he heard Gale talking about Katniss.

“Who?”

I rolled my eyes.

“He was in your class. He comes to trade time to time to our father… with berries” I didn’t want to mention Katniss. “Oh” He grimaced “ I remember him now. The haughty seam boy who think he is better than the entire world.”

I didn’t contradicted.

“Yep, you saw him?”

“Nope. Didn’t pay attention. What about your day?”

“ The usual I replied. It was a bit hard at time because I was pitied by customers and they couldn’t stopped to talk about the robbery. Mom was Mom…”  I didn’t go to the details “ And dad was dad.”

“I see… Your bruises? Do they still hurt?”

“A bit. But I had it worst.”

Suddenly I heard him snore. It was time for me to sleep too. I wasn’t sure I would be able to find sleep because my mind was back at Katniss Everdeen.

 

To be continued.

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ^^ Here is chapter 6 and I have a good news : loveROMONIEandEVERLARK is now my beta. She worked really hard and fast. She is perfect. I hope I will get better with her by my side. The chapter is longer than usual and I hope you will enjoy it. Please write a comment or give kudos ^^ if you appreciated it : It important for us “Author’s” and give a big hug to my wonderful beta. The previous chapters will be beta'ed too but for now it's still the old version.

**Katniss’s pov**

On my way back to my home, I couldn’t help but think about my meeting with Peeta Mellark. Strangely, I felt happy and comforted. Nothing went like I expected. It was of course good news. Before opening the door, I couldn’t help but smile. I was about to enter my house when I heard Gale’s voice. He ran towards me and before I could understand what was happening I was in his arms. It was the first time that I found myself in his embrace.  The first thing I noticed was he was thin and firm. His smell was familiar too, but I was confused as to why he took me in his arms.

“Gale?” I questionned. He let me go at the sound of my voice.

“I was so worried for you Katniss. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asked worried.

“What?”

“Since I had finished my shift at the mines, I came to talk to you. To warn you, but it was too late. Your mother told me you had gone to the Mellarks to bring them a stew! I panicked. I went to the bakery but there was nobody there,” he explained.

“Wait what? You went to the bakery? What did you want to warn me about?” I asked confused.

“We should talk somewhere else.” He announced and I saw my sister watching us from our bedroom window. I agreed. We didn’t go far away, just somewhere we knew nobody could see us. We sat on the ground.

“What happened Gale?”

“Mellark knows. About Prim. I asked around about the robbery and Purnia told me Mellark declared he didn’t know who did it because he went away from his bakery cause he heard screams… He lied. He knows. You are in deep trouble Catnip. When your mother told me you went at the bakery… I thought… I thought the worst and there wasn’t anything I could have done. When I went there to rescue you, there were no signs of life.”

“Oh.” I was touched. I took his hand like Peeta had done to me to reassure him. I squeezed  it a little and then let go  just as quickly. His hand was cold. It felt weird doing it. I certainely wasn’t as good at comforting as Peeta. It seemed so natural and easy when he had done it. But here, with Gale, it felt uneasy and out of place. Gale had a stunned look and a tiny smile.

“I’m fine Gale. Everything went fine.” I wanted to reassure him first.

He sighed, relieved.

“I knew that he knew. I had forgotten, but Madge had told me the same. I hadn’t paid attention at the time but then it came back to me in the middle of the night.”

“So what happened when you were at the Mellarks? Didn’t they think it was a bit suspicious? I mean … with you bringing a stew to them? And why did you cook for them? What did the Mellark boy say?”

I pondered for a minute about what I should say to Gale. Gale was my best friend and we had no secrets with each other. I trusted him completely. So I told him how everything went. How Peeta wanted to help and was not a danger for Prim and I. Of course he reacted the way I expected he would. “You can’t trust him Katniss. It’s a trap… it’s too good to be true…”  He was upset now.

“I know. I’m not naïve, Gale. Of course I’m suspicious. But it’s better to play it that way.” It was a half lie. Was I suspicious and careful about Peeta? Yes, a part of me was. We were still strangers and I couldn’t lower my guard. But it was also true that a part of me trusted him because he was the boy with the bread. Of course I didn’t tell that to Gale. He didn’t know about the  bread.

“Good. But I don’t like this, Katniss.”

“I know. You know how much I hate being in debt with someone. But I think what he suggested to do about Prim can actually work.”

He frowned. “Maybe, I have to admit it’s a good idea… But what I don’t like it’s now you are forced to cook him dinner every day… as a cover. It’s highly suspicious and he is already using the situation to his advantage…” He groaned.

“Do you trust me, Gale?”

He nodded and added, “But I don’t trust HIM.”

“For now I have no other choice. Once Prim is safe and we get rid of Khaled everything will be okay again. Besides if something goes wrong you‘ll have my back. Right partner?” I grinned at him.

“Of course. Merchant or not. I don’t care. If he hurts you or Prim, he’s dead. But be careful Catnip.” He pleaded.

“I will. You know who I am. By the way, did you talk to Khaled?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t have time today. It’s  been an awful day.” He sounded annoyed.

“What happened?”

“Another Mellark happened. The middle son. Colin. We were in the same class.”

I was surprised. What did Colin Mellark have to do with any of this? My doubts rose. Did Peeta play me?

“What? Did he talk to you about the robbery? Does he know something too?”  Did Peeta lie to me? My heart sped up. I felt nervous and angry.

“No. It had nothing to do with the robbery.”

Until that moment, I had not realized that I was holding my breath. Peeta didn’t lie to me. I felt relieved at the news.

“Well when you think about it…”Gale added, “… it is, but not the way you fear it is.”

I tensed again. “What do you mean?”

“Because of the robbery, he has to work at the mines. To bring money back for his family,” Gale said bitterly.

Peeta didn’t tell me about that. I felt bad again. His brother had to take a job at the mines. It was awful. Why didn’t he tell me about this?

“Oh…” I didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t know about that”..

“Can you imagine a merchant working at the mines? Seriously, he was the only blond guy with  pale skin and he came for his first day with a white shirt and a neck tie, like he was going to work in an office.” Gale took a little rock in his hand and then threw it.

“Why did he do that?”

“To mock us. The chief had to give him a “proper” uniform. But that’s not the worst.  He joined my team! We barely acknowledged him. We were so pissed at him. Our team chief gave him the job nobody wants to do. Because you have to be all alone and it’s so boring. Thom went to check on him from time to time. I didn’t want to talk to him.”

I felt a little bad for Peeta’s brother. It wasn’t his fault that he had to work at the mines. It was Prim’s and Khaled’s fault. I was a bit upset by the cold shoulder the guy received. But what else would one expect? A merchant in a middle of seam miners…

“But, that’s not all.  Mellark acted like he couldn’t care less about the way we welcomed him and the job he got to do.  Thom even said to me that he looked like he enjoyed the job. He was clearly mocking us again. I wanted to strangle him. He insulted us all day long.” He threw another rock away.

I didn’t know Peeta’s brother at all. I just recalled Peeta saying that Colin fucked up a lot.

“ It’s not even the worse Katniss.” Gale started.

“What else did he do?” I asked.

“He actually did a good job!  And the chief congratulated him! He made us look lazy compared to him.”

I let Gale talk.  He obviously needed to vent.

“And like that wasn’t enough, he did the unthinkable…”

I frowned. “ What did he do?”

“He took two buckets of water from our well, outside of the mines. He stripped of his uniform and he washed himself in front of everybody.”

I gasped.

“Was he naked?”

“No, he kept his boxers. But can you imagine? Who does he think he is? We were all shocked. When he was clean again, he looked like he was glowing… With his blond hair and pale skin around us.”

“Did someone speak to him about it?”

He nodded.

“He replied he couldn’t go back home dirty. Then he asked if he wasn’t allowed to clean himself and the chief shrugged. He said there were no such rules.”

I wanted to laugh but I resisted when I saw how pissed Gale was.

“It’s a matter of time before that Mellark brings trouble. He was always involved in fights at school. I stayed away from him the best I could  and now, he’s been assigned to our team. I don’t need that and it’s even worse now that you have to play dumb with his little brother to secure Prim’s life.”

I wondered if Gale was right. Was Colin a danger too?

“I have to behave around him. He probably will try to provoke me. Maybe he knows about Prim.”

“Peeta said--” But he interrupted me.

“We have to be careful, if he lied and his brother knows… He knows how close we are. He could use it.”

I nodded. Gale was right. We had to be extra careful with the Mellark boys. But another part of me wanted to believe in Peeta and trust him.

Gale yawned. It was near midnight.

“I should go. It’s late.”

I nodded.

“Thank you,” I said before we separated our ways.

When I entered our bedroom, Prim wasn’t asleep. I dreaded the discussion I had to have with her. She ignored me. I sighed and I put on a pajama. It was too late to take a bath. The silence was horrible. I didn’t know how to start the whole thing. It was her who eventually started to speak.

“Gale… He seriously looked worried for you when Mom told him you were at the Mellarks. He blanched. I have never seen him so worried.”

“I know.” I had to do better than this. Prim seemed to be in deep thought.

“He looked scared to death. Do you know why?”

I nodded. I had to play it well. I replied with a tired voice.

“He  found out that Peeta said to the peacekeepers that he left the bakery because he heard a person screaming for help.”

Prim looked confused for a minute. I continued.

“He was afraid that Peeta could hurt me…”

She suddenly got up from her bed.

“I can’t believe you told him!”

I couldn’t believe my own ears. The selfish brat she had become.

“He is my best friend. He won’t tell a soul. I needed his support… I needed him to back me up in case…”

She glared at me. I had to keep calm. Then she seemed to register, at last, the important information in the middle of it.

“Peeta lied?”

“He knows.” I stated.

“He can’t! Even if he knows, he  doesn’t have any proof,” Prim argued.

“He knows and he is smarter than you think,” I replied.

She suddenly looked a bit pale.

“Why did he lie then?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I rolled my eyes. “Because now, just like that, we are in debt… He covered you but it’s not for free.  ”

“What?” She blanched.

“Don’t worry little duck. You are safe. I fixed everything…” I tried to look pained.

“What do you mean Katniss?”

“I had to protect you… So I volunteered to take your place.” I didn’t look at her because I was afraid she could guessed I was not telling the entire truth.

“Katniss… What… Did… you have to do?” Her voice trembled.

“The stew I cooked was part of the deal… I’ll have to cook his dinner from now on and… be his servant whenever he needs me.”

She didn’t reply. My heart was accelerating.

“You did this for me?” I looked at her and she was in tears. My heart melt. I went to hug her. “You’re my sister. I had to protect you.”

“Oh Katniss, I thought you would betrayed me… I’m… I’m so sorry… We should talk to Khaled. He’ll find something to stop this.”

“No!” I yelled in a panic.. She looked surprised at my outburst.

“Everything is fine. All Peeta wants is to feel powerful for now… But he’ll get tired of it sooner than you think. He just wants to show who is in control. If you tell Khaled, he won’t trust you anymore… He is going to be mad at you. I’m okay Prim. “

She didn’t look convinced.

“Gale has my back. You know Gale.”

This seemed to persuade her.

“Oh Gale knows…”

“Of course. I wasn’t going to throw myself at Peeta Mellark without him knowing.”Even if in fact, it was just what I had done.

“Are we okay Prim?” I asked gently. She looked so innocent with her wet cheeks. “I know I have been hard on you. But it’s because I was so worried.”

I gave her a tissue. Then she hugged me tighter. “I thought… I love you Katniss.”

“I love you, little duck,” I replied tenderly.

It seemed like my little sister was back. I wanted to talk about Khaled but I  chose not to spoil the moment. Peeta’s plan was working already. My sister trusted me back.

She sat back at her bed. Then she grinned at me.

“It was so cute how much Gale was worried for you…” she stated. “I saw earlier that he took you in his arms when you came back… It was so romantic, like in my novels.”

I entered my own bed. “We should sleep Prim. It’s really late…”

“You never wondered if Gale…” She started again.

“Prim please… I’m so tired. Go to sleep. I have a hard day tomorrow.”

“Oh right,” she said and I could notice the guilt in her voice.

 

To my surprise at the end of our shool time, Prim came back home with me and helped me cook rabbit stew for Peeta. I was happily surprised by the change and I hoped it  would last. I didn’t know if she had seen Khaled during the day and I didn’t dare to ask. I was happy to have my sweet sister back.  Once the stew was ready she asked to come with  me. I told her it was better for her to stay away from Peeta. 

I couldn’t wait to go see him and tell him what Madge said at lunch about Khaled. Finally, I joined Peeta where we met yesterday, behind the trees. He was waiting there and a huge smile appeared on his face when he saw me.

“Hey,” He said softly and for some reason my heart sped up.

“Hi. Hungry?” I asked.

“Yeah… I hope you don’t mind, but I gave the rest of  yesterday’s stew to my brother. He hasn’t had much to eat either.”

“I don’t mind. I understand. You do what you want with your stew…” Then I frowned.

“Didn’t he ask you how you got it? “

He nodded between bites.

“Yeah, but he knew better than to ask,”  he replied. “This is so good… You are a great cook.”

“Actually, Prim helped me. Your idea worked. I was a bit surprised because it was actually easy.”

He smiled at me. One of those confident smiles that I appreciated.

“It’s because Prim is good at heart. She had just been misled. That’s all.”

 He continued to eat and a feeling of contentment came over me. I was glad to be the one to feed him, to make him full and happy.

“I heard that your brother is working at the mines now,” I  stated.

Peeta nodded again.

“Yeah, we need more money.  Surprisingly, he seemed to like working there. He came back really happy yesterday.”

This surprised me.

“Really? I don’t think I know one person who likes to work down there.” I didn’t tell him what Gale told me.

“That’s Colin. My unpredictable brother,”  he grinned.

I realized at that moment I wanted to know more about him. But I didn’t dare to ask because it made no sense. Why was I so eager to discover more about his life? Why did I feel like I just had to fully understand the boy with the bread? I reminded myself that once the problems  with Prim are fixed, we would return to our  normal lives and be strangers again. Peeta and I were not friends. We were forced partners with the purpose of helping  my sister. If she hadn’t been involved with the robbery, we would have never talked. So, I changed the subject back to what was important.

“I learnt something from Madge about Khaled,” I said while he was  chewing. I noticed he had manners when he ate. His mouth was closed.

“Great, I have news too but tell me yours first.”

“I don’t know if it’s really  useful or not… but community home boys are sometimes allowed to work as servants. All you have to do is ask the director for some kids. Some merchants employ them for few hours when they need it. The mayor had Khaled work for him for an evening because he had Capitol guests. It was the day that the bakery  was robbed. Peeta stopped  eating and seemed deep in thought. I continued.

“But Madge told me he had behaved. He was the image of an angel,” I finished.

Peeta sighed.

“It probably wasn’t a coincidence that he robbed the bakery that day. He knew the mayor was hosting guests in advance. It wasn’t too hard to deduce we would have more money than usual in our cashier.”

“Seems like he planned it all carefully.” Peeta nodded.

“He seems smart and it’s good to know we can hire him. Obviously I have no money now for that… but who knows. I didn’t know this about community kids. My parents never hired  any,” he stopped, like he realised something, but didn’t say more. I wished he had. I wanted him to open up to me. But maybe, he didn’t fully trust me yet. Could I blame him when I was always so careful around him?  No, of course not. So why did I feel a bit disappointed? It made no sense.

“I talked to Abby at lunch time. She’s the community home employee. I  found out some very interesting things about Khaled. Some of it makes me feel bad for the guy. But it’s no excuse for what he’s done,” Peeta stated. “Having a difficult past does not mean we are allowed to hurt others and do bad things,”

I completely agreed with him and let him know that with a nod. Then I asked, “What did you find out?”

“He is big trouble. But  that is not something you don’t know already. Kids are actually afraid of him. He acts like a leader and  orders them around. Even some of the older ones seem to be wary of him and don’t want to mess with him. He has a lot of anger issues.” Peeta paused and took my hand again in his. I let him. I liked to feel his soft and warm hand in mine. It confused me because I shouldn’t let him do this. But it felt strangely normal and natural for him to do it.

“He also can be violent…” He told me carefully. I gasped in horror. He could be violent with Prim if she upset him. Peeta must have understood what my first thought had been. He squeezed my hand gently.

“We have to get rid of him as soon as possible! If he hurt Prim like that,” I said, feeling anger and panic all at one.

“We will. From my talk to Abby, Khaled hates merchants. He thinks his father is one and didn’t recognize him and abandonned him.”

I frowned. Peeta has never met Khaled, but I know he  doesn’t have any of the merchants’ physical traits. His skin is dark, like that of every Seam person and he doesn’t have blue eyes. But now that I think about it, his hair is a bit lighter and his eyes are hazel.

“He could be…” I declared. “Never thought about it, but he could be…”

Peeta shook his head.

“His father isn’t a merchant. It’s what he believes but it’s not the truth.” Peeta looked around as if he wanted to make sure that nobody was able to hear us. Then he closed the space between us. His arm brushed mine and I felt like a little thrilled. It was like electricity coursed through the area where we touched. I think Peeta felt it too. But we didn’t say anything about it.

“I have to whisper because, Abby trusted me with that information… it’s a secret.”

I nodded. The fact that Peeta Mellark trusted me  made me feel like a happy bubble  was growing in my chest. It was ridiculous. I was being stupid. I can’t seem to understand myself when I’m around him. I was nervous and my emotions were strange. It was probably just because I hate change. And talking to Peeta Mellark, sharing a secret with him, is a big change. That was logic in fact. I needed a time to adapt.

“When she was thirteen years old, his mother, a seam girl named Elisabeth Grant gave birth to Khaled. At 14, Elisabeth got reaped. Her family didn’t want to take care of the kid and the baby was sent to the community home.”

“What a horrible story. She was so young. Who was the father?”

“She said she had been raped by the head peacekeeper.”

“Cray!”

“Shush… keep your voice down. No, not Cray. The one before Cray. But of course nobody believed her, or if they believed her, they did nothing.”

“Of course.” That was sad but understable.

“Abby told me that during her interview with Ceasar Flickerman, Elisabeth revealed everything.”

I frowned, confused.

“I never heard such a story… Are you sure?”

“It’s because the capitol cut her interview. That part was not included in the final editing. But there was a live audience during the interviews.  Abby said that it was a scandal. The audience  was shocked.”

“And how does Abby know this story?” 

“Because even though she was a little girl at the time, her family was in the audience.”

That’s when I understood Abby was from the Capitol. My blood ran cold. Of course she was. Capitol employees worked in every big structure. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? The worst part was that Peeta  had befriended one of them… or maybe more. He could be a traitor.  He seemed to notice my reaction and guessed my thoughts.

“Not all Capitol employees are bad people…”  he told me. Then he added, “Madge’s father’s for example…  and some peacekeepers... are not bad. You can’t put everybody in the same bag Katniss. Before belonging to a group, they are individuals.

He was right. Darius and Purnia were peacekeepers but they weren’t mean. Even Cray wasn’t so bad. I was unfair.

“I know.”

“Let me continue. During her interview, Elisabeth told everything she knew about her rapist and others things about peacekeepers stealing from the Capitol, enough for the Capitol to believe her. That and the audience was deeply shocked.”

“They  were shocked that a little girl  was raped but aren’t when kids are killing each other for the entertainment… what the hell!” I said bitterly.

“I know, it seemed they are shocked by that and nudity, sex, and cannibalism too if it’s on tv” he added in an ironic tone. “Anyway, fifteen years ago, they changed a lot of things here. Cray arrived and the mayor  was sent back to the Capitol and a new mayor was chosen by the Capitol, the one we know now, Mr. Undersee. As for the baby they gave him a new past and a new identity. He doesn’t know who he is or who his parents were. He has no clue. They told him her mother died during childbirth and she had no family and that she never talked about the father. He doesn’t know her mother was from the Grant family. He knows nothing.”

It was a lot to digest.

“That Abby, she told you a lot…” I declared.

“I know, she likes me,” He said proudly.

I didn’t like her at all.

“You and her… you…”

Why did I had to ask that? It was not my business. Why couldn’t I just control my mouth?

“You are not serious Katniss.” Peeta looked stunned. “She is way older than me. Not that old, but no!”

He looked straighted into my eyes. “Why are you asking me that?” he demanded with a strange smile.

 “I don’t know!”

I felt cornered. Really why did I ask him that?

“Really?” he questioned.  

“Sometimes I speak without thinking. I’m not good with words. I really don’t know…”

I was getting angrier by the second and it showed in voice.

Peeta shrugged.

“Okay.”

The silence that followed was a bit awkward. But eventually, he spoke. “Anyway, I have an idea, but I’m not sure about it…”

“Tell me,” I requested with a softer tone.

“We would have to break Prin’s heart.” 

“What?”

He nodded.

“She is in love with him but if she found out he was cheating on her…” he explained.

“Oh! Yeah…  she’d be heartbroken, but if that’s what it takes for her to forget about Khaled then we should do it. How?” I asked.

“By asking some girl to flirt with him on purpose and make Prim witness the scene.”

“Oh, do you know a girl who  would agree to do that?”

“Not for free…” he  sighed.

“Of course,” I replied bitterly.  I thought about the  shoemaker’s girl that he was always with, but didn’t ask. It felt out of place. As for me, I didn’t know any girl… I didn’t have  girlfriends, except maybe Madge… But I would never ask her for something like that.

“Anyway, the idea is good. If Prim sees Khaled kiss another girl, it would be the end of them as a couple.”

“Maybe…  it’s worth a shot. We have to find a girl first.”

I had an idea.

“What about one of Cray’s girls? They won’t work for free, but if I catch a turkey and bring some strawberries,” I suggested.

His eyes lit up.

“Oh yes! I may know one who could help us. I may have something to add to the trade.”

My heart sank. Of course, he knew Cray’s girls. I felt a bit disgusted at the thought. It probably showed on my face because his eyes went wide in shock.

“No!  It’s not what you think. Colin  brought some time to time,” he explained.

Was he trying to explain to me… that he and his brother were sharing prostitutes…for economic reasons?

“Oh my! Stop making that face! Stop thinking Katniss!” he pleaded in a loud voice.

“My brother, not me! I’m not that kind of guy,” he said.

I felt myself blushing from embarassement.

He suddenly laughed, but then stopped.

“You are cute when you blush,” he said.  I felt my cheeks  grow warmer. I wanted to get up and run away. He was making fun of me. It made me angry. I got up.

“This isn’t funny! Stop mocking me!” I yelled furious.

His smile disappeared and he got up too.

“I’m not making fun of you Katniss.” His voice was deep and serious. It confused me. He was looking straight into my eyes. Did he really think I was cute? Because I knew I wasn’t. I wasn’t ugly but I wasn’t beautiful either and much less cute. He probably noticed my doubts. My face probably gave me away. It annoyed me.

“You are cute when you blush and you are a beautiful girl Katniss. And if you don’t believe it or if nobody told you that already, it’s not fair. Because you are and it doesn’t matter that you believe me or not, this my truth.”

I was speechless. He was blushing now. Suddenly, I stopped being mad. He was cute when he was blushing too.  I tried to avoid making things even more awkward and held my tongue instead of saying another stupid thing like, ‘You are cute when you blush too.”  Instead I simply smiled at him. I felt flattered and happy. Nobody except my mother and Prim, and a long time ago my father, told me I was cute or beautiful.  Surprisingly, it made me genuinely happy.

 

Suddenly, the weather changed. The  wind rose and dark clouds approached fast. In a few minutes a summer rain was going to strike. Peeta noticed it too. “We should go back.  It’s going to rain soon”

I nodded and stood. But it started to rain. 

“There,” Peeta said as he pointed to a little shelter. I followed him. The shelter was tiny and unfortunately the wind’s direction wasn’t in our favor. It was rainning more violentely. Even in the shelter we were going to be drenched. Suddenly Peeta placed himself in front of me. He was taller than me and broader, so he protected me from the rain. He was close to me but our bodies didn’t touch.

“Why are you doing that? You are going to get drenched Peeta,” I protested.

He shrugged.

“I’m a gentleman. I’m not going to let a lady to get drenched when I can protect her.” He answered with  affection in his voice. I felt my heart speed up again.

I didn’t feel like I was a lady… but by now, I knew better than to protest. Peeta Mellark could be stubborn. Something told me it was hopeless to protest. He was so close to me. He smelled like cinnamon. I briefly wondered what it could feel to be in his arms. A part of me was curious about it and wanted to move closer… yet another part of me wondered  what the hell was happening to me?

The summer rain stopped as quicky as it started. Peeta had never closed the distance between us. I felt relieved  but also somehow… a bit disappointed.

 “It stopped. It didn’t even last 5 minutes,” he observed.

His back was completely soaked.

  “Peeta, you are…” I didn’t know what to say. I felt guilty. He didn’t have to protect me. It actually annoyed me. Why did he have to be so…infuriating.

“It’s okay, Katniss. The bakery isn’t far. I’ll be back at home in less than 5 minutes. It’s not  like that for you. You have at least a  twenty minute walk before you’re back at the Seam.”

That was logic.

“I should go,” he declared. “See ya tomorrow?”

I nodded. He left but then turned and waved at me with  a dazzling smile. I waved back. Then he ran  until he was out of my sight. I walked back at home and tried hard to not think about Peeta Mellark.

To be continued.

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: Hello, here is the chapter 7 , thank you for all the people who gave kudos and wrote comments ^^ . Me and My beta had been a bit busy this week, so it took longer to get this chapter done. I hope you will enjoy it . Big hugs ^^ and for the person who asked about a bit more of Vanessa. Here she is ^^

**CHAPTER 7**

**Katniss’s pov**

Gale was waiting for me at the porch.

“Hey Catnip!”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I had to make sure you came back safe. I don’t trust him. I told you.”

“It went fine.” Gale was a bit overprotective. I was a big girl who could defend herself and Peeta was not dangerous. I remembered how he protected me from the rain. I wanted to smile but didn’t. I didn’t want Gale to ask questions.

“How was your day?”

He shrugged.

“Mellark gave us the same show than yesterday. Thom spoke to him a little and said he was a nice guy. It pissed me off because I know he isn’t.”

I didn’t reply.  It was useless to defend someone I didn’t know after all.

I sat near him. Then my house door’s opened and Khaled appeared.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school Prim.”

My blood went cold. Gale squeezed my arm and I forced a smile when Khaled noticed I was here with my best friend.

“Katniss,” he  said politely. In reality, he barely acknowledged me. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him to not get close to my little sister ever. But I resisted until he was out of sight.

I glared at Gale.

“He was here? Why didn’t you tell me?” I reproached.

“Don’t worry, your mother is inside.”

“Oh,” I felt relieved.

“Besides I had a little chat with him.” “How did it go?”

“Fine. I told him Prim was like a sister to me and I would not let him hurt her.”

“Good,” I said.

“You know, I think you are misdjuging him a little. He is still young and a bit impulsive, but I think he likes Prim and we talked about the seam, the merchants, and the capitol. We have plenty of common points you know.”

“I can’t believe you are saying that to me!” I hissed. “They robbed the bakery. It was wrong. Prim could be in danger. And I just  found out that he has a tendancy to ressort to violence! He could hurt Prim.” I was angry.

Gale rolled his eyes.

“I think you are overreacting a bit Catnip. Because he dates your sister, you suddenly can’t see straight. You should take the time to talk to him at least once,” he insisted.

I got up. I had enough.

“It’s late Gale.”

He looked frustrated.

“Oh come on Catnip. You didn’t give him a chance. You are all worked up because of what he did to the baker like you belong to the merchants. I don’t see you being outraged when  a seam family  gets robbed and  that happens all the time.” he argued.

“Yeah, because seam people are robbing each other… It happens all the time, there is no solidarity between us and so far no merchants have come to rob us!”

“They rob us every day with their prices Catnip!” he yelled back.

He didn’t want to understand. With Gale it was always black or white. No grey zone, never.

“The capitol is responsible for our misery Gale. You know that. I know you have never liked the merchants because they have it better than us. But don’t you see? We are all living in district 12 and in the same boat.”

Gale shook his head.

“No there is a difference Catnip and you know it. You just can’t see straight because you are scared for Prim. You have been reduced to cook for the baker’s son for Christ’s sake!  It should be the other way around! I don’t even understand why you are continuing with that!” He said with a bit of anger. But he wasn’t yelling.

“To protect Prim. Because what she did was bad and whatever you think about it, it was wrong!”

“I don’t think Prim is so much in danger anymore. I thought about it today, he already told his own version of what happened to the peacekeepers. I don’t think he will dare to change it now. It’s too late for that. Nobody will believe him or trust what he’ll say if he changes his mind…” He explained.

The door opened and Prim joined us.

“Prim,” I said. She probably heard everything. All my efforts have been screwed up because of Gale.

“Catnip” Gale said. “Mellark is playing with you. You don’t have to make him dinner…” He hesitated I feared that he was going to talk about Peeta’s strategy to protect Prim so I spoke before he could do more damage.

“No you don’t understand because you don’t know the whole story. Peeta Mellark saved my life. I looked at Prim, he saved our lives.” I didn’t want to talk about the bread but I was forced to and I hated them for that.

“What do you mean Catnip?” Gale asked confused.

“I was eleven…” I started to tell the story. They listened to me without interrupting me. When I was done. I wanted to cry but I didn’t. I focused on the anger I felt instead. Prim came to hug me.

“Why didn’t you tell this before?” she asked.

Because it was my secret. It was an event of my life I didn’t want to remember or to share. I was ashamed and angry about the whole situation and maybe, a tiny part of me, cherished what the boy with the bread did for me and wanted to keep it a secret too. But mostly I was ashamed. Gale seemed speechless. I noticed my mother at the door as well. She was so pale. She probably heard it too. Well, good for her. She has to know how close we were to death because of her. It was her fault after all.

I let go of Prim. I didn’t want to talk to them anymore or watch their expressions. They were in shock and I entered the house and went directely to my bedroom. I was so upset. I felt like something had been stolen from me. Nobody should have known that story.

Later Prim joined me. After all, it was her bedroom too..

“Katniss.” She sat at the corner of my bed. “I know you are not sleep.” She was right, I  wasn’t able to sleep. “Thank you, for everything you have done for me, and for mother too.” She laid down a bit to hug me and it felt good, until she added, “Don’t worry, I’m a grown up now. I will take care of the family too. You are not alone in this. I’ll help too now.”

She kissed me on the cheek and I knew everything  had gone wrong. I knew exactely what kind of help she was talking about. She had been fond of that Robin Hood idea. I didn’t reply.  I was scared to death.  I couldn’t sleep at all. Hours passed and I was still wide awake. I looked at the clock, it was four in the morning. Too early to hunt. I got up carefully to not wake Prim. I dressed myself and left the house. I didn’t know why and how exactly but I ended up under that apple tree near the bakery. The lights were on already. I didn’t even understand why I came. It was stupid.

 I stayed there probably ten minutes and I was about to leave when I heard his deep and soft voice.

“Katniss?”

“Peeta,” I said with a shaky voice. He came closer and we went behind the apple tree so that nobody could see us.

 “You don’t look well. Did something happen?” He was worried.

“I screwed up.” I said. “Prim…” I couldn’t speak. I felt miserable. Suddenly he took me in his arms. He was large and  so muscular, he smelled soap and his body was so warm and comfortable. His embrace made me feel  so good and protected. It reminded me of when I was held by my father. I hugged him back. I didn’t cry, his arms had a calming effect. “I’m here Katniss. It’s going to be okay. It won’t be easy. But I will not let anything happen to Prim or to you.”

I didn’t reply I felt cocooned in his embrace. When I started to feel better I realised this was wrong. So wrong. I barely knew Peeta… What I was doing in his arms? Why did I let him embrace me so easily? Why I didn’t want to  let go? Then I felt weak. I hated that feeling and now Peeta probably thought I was weak. I came to my senses and pushed him away without further thought. He looked surprised and a bit confused.

“Katniss? Are you Okay?”

“This…” I shook my hand between us. “This is all wrong,” I declared, sounding upset.

“Oh,” Peeta said like he understood something. Then he added, “I didn’t mean… I…” For the first time he seemed to have trouble finding his words.

“Don’t… I don’t need comfort… I’m not that kind of girl. I’m strong enough,” I explained.

“I know you are strong.”

“Good,” I said.

He looked at me, “But even if you are strong, if you ever need comfort, I will always be here  for you.”

“I won’t need that. I don’t need to be comforted,” I repeated, more to myself than to him.

He shrugged.

“And I will be always be here for you if  you need me.” I rolled my eyes. What a stubborn boy! I didn’t understand why he was doing this…Oh yeah… He cares about people. This is who he is. A caring person and my actions probably make me probably an ungrateful, mean person..

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“Nope.” Did he never let go?

“Okay.”

“I should go back at home. You are probably working. I don’t even know why I came here.”

“I was helping my dad but since my mom is out for the day. He just told me I could have my day off and rest. I haven’t stopped working since Sunday.”

“Oh…” Suddenly I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t understand myself anymore. Maybe I came here because I needed him. Why would I needed Peeta?  I didn’t need him, but I still wanted to stay here with him. It was driving me crazy. “Peeta…” I finally spoke. “Do you think we could be wrong about Khaled? That he is a nice guy and I didn’t give him a chance because I’m an overprotective sister?”

“I think you should trust yourself and your instincts,” he said. “That, plus all of the evidence we found proves he isn’t what your sister needs.”

Peeta not only had faith in me, but he said exactly what I needed to hear. Maybe Gale was right about Khaled, but the only important thing was he was wrong for my litlte sister and she was in danger as long as she was with him.  That was what mattered. I had to protect Prim from him. It was my duty.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Since I have my day off, I’m going to see that girl to negociate her help,” he announced.

“I’ll go with you!”  I didn’t want to go back at home. I needed action.

“What about school?”

“I’ll skip it. It’s not like I’m forced to go now… I’m 18 and already  went through my last reaping. So if I want to skip it sometimes… I can.”

His face lit up.

“You were already 18? So you are free?”

I nodded.

“I’m so happy for you.” And he looked so sincere, like he was relieved. He moved closer and I thought he was going to hug me again but he stopped at the last second. . I almost wished he hadn’t.  

“Oh, I was about to hug you again… I’m a hugger type of person.” He laughed.

“I just discovered that,” I replied with a smile.

“Congratulations Katniss. When was your birthday?” he asked.

“May eighth.”

“Oh you are so lucky, that’s awesome.” His smile was so huge.

“I know you aren’t… Yet. The teacher told you needed an authorisation to quit school”.

He nodded.

“Yeah… But it’s not important right now! What’s important is that you are safe now.”

I smiled back at him.

“Thank you.”

Then Mr. Mellark’s  voice interrupted us. He was at the door looking for where his son had gone.

“Peeta where are you? I need your help.”

“I have to go. Let’s meet at our usual place at 10 am,” he suggested.

“Okay.”

He smiled and ran back toward the bakery.

I went back  home. Prim and mother were still asleep so I went back to bed. I felt better than earlier and fell asleep quickly. Prim woke me up to prepare  for school. I lied and said I had a headache and felt nauseous. Our mother was already gone and Prim made me breakfast. She wanted me to rest.

We didn’t talk about what happened the previous evening. I was worried about Prim but I had to meet Peeta and we had to begin our plan. The sooner, the better.

Once Prim was gone, I got up, took a bath, dressed and started cooking a lunch for me and Peeta. I didn’t make anything elaborate, but it was decent enough for us to enjoy our lunch. Especially Peeta. I even let myself sing while cooking. It relaxed me and I felt in the mood.

I also found a note from mom, “I will be back late. Don’t wait for me for dinner.” My mother was doing better but she was always working, sometimes even for free. I knew it was her way to not think.

I put our lunch in my satchel and it was time to meet Peeta. I didn’t understand why I felt a bit tense and nervous. My stomach seemed to be upset too. It was probably because we were about to set up our plan. Things were getting serious. I felt stressed all the way to our meeting place and when I was close to our tree, my heart accelerated. Then I spotted him. He was waiting for me. When he saw me, he smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back and rush toward him.

*******************************

**Peeta’s pov**

She smiled at me like she was really happy to be here. I couldn’t believe that I was going to spend the day with her. She was so beautiful and my heart was beating like crazy. I wasn’t so sure that it was a good idea to bring her with me to meet Vanessa.

 I was afraid that she would reveal to Katniss that Colin had offered her to me as a birthday gift. It was embarrassing. But I think prostitutes have secrecy rules. Like a doctor, or a lawyer or the Hunger games’ mentor. Which reminded me that since the robbery I hadn’t had time for my weekly visit to Haymitch. He probably though he had succeeded the last time and finally scared me away. But I won’t give up.

Anyway, I had no time for Haymitch now. Katniss was my priority. We walked back to the seam. I took the address that Vanessa had written on a paper for Colin because I quote “Colin, I never enjoy myself doing my job, but tonight, I really did. So next time,  if you want, I’m willing to do it for free.”

While we were walking Katniss didn’t ask questions. I felt embarrassed.

“I stole it from Colin. He didn’t care. I don’t think he plans to… Well... I think we are arrived,” I said as I noticed the house number. Katniss wasn’t speaking much. She felt uneasy. I bet it’s not usual for her to pay a visit to a prostitute and I wondered if she was afraid that someone was spotting her with me, knocking at a prostitute’s door.

I looked at her before knocking. “Ready?”

She nodded. I knocked. No answer. I knocked again. Then we heard her voice. “I’m coming…” She opened the door. She was naked. I was surprised but there was nothing new to me, I sketched her naked after all and it was… well Vanessa. I glanced at Katniss and she looked shocked and embarrassed. I couldn’t help but smile because she was insanely cute.

Vanessa looked at us and declared.

“Sorry, but I don’t do threesome.”

I almost laughed but Katniss looked like she wanted to crawl under Vanessa’s doormat.

“We aren’t there for sex,” I replied a bit amused by the whole situation. Katniss was staring at her shoes and anywhere but Vanessa. The prostitute raised her eyebrows, she recognized me.

“Oh right, you are the gay painter.”

“I’m not gay!” I yelled back offended. I didn’t want to meet’s Katniss’ eyes. The last thing I wanted was her to think I was gay.

“If you aren’t here for sex. Why are you here?” She looked at Katniss who was like a frozen statue.

“We need your help and we are willing to trade for it.” I replied. “And I’m not gay,” I added again. “I’m straight. Not gay.”

Vanessa frowned and seemed amused. She went back inside her house but didn’t close the door. Katniss was scowling. I entered and she followed suit.

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you very much for the comments and a special thank to my lovely and efficient Beta. I hope you will like this chapter. Tell me ^^ each review is a big hug you send me and it’s very encouraging;

**Katniss’s pov**

We sat on her couch and she was sitting in front of us, still naked… I was embarrassed, did the woman have no shame at all? I looked at Peeta and he didn’t seem to mind. It annoyed me a lot.  He even seemed amused by the whole situation and I was angry at his behavior.

“Can’t you dress?” I eventually asked the prostitute. She smirked at me. I didn’t like her.

“Why Miss? You shouldn’t be embarrassed, I don’t think there is something you never saw yourself… You have tits and a pussy too. Relax.” Then she looked at Peeta and addressed him.

“You don’t mind do you?”

Peeta shook his head with a little smile and I wanted to strangle him.

Vanessa smiled.

“See…” Then she looked at me and added, “Oh… I understand now. You don’t want him to see me naked. Don’t worry, Miss, he is a boy that wants to loose his virginity to his one true love.”

I frowned. I was a bit confused. Peeta looked unseasy. She continued.

“I was his birthday gift. But he declined, so his brother had to take the gift back for himself.”

I felt relieved and I shouldn’t have felt like that. Because it wasn’t my business to care about Peeta’s sexuallity. But still I was happy.  He refused to accept a prostitute as a gift. I knew a lot of boys would have accepted. I wasn’t that naïve. I knew Gale had a lot of girls at the slag heap and I always felt a bit of disgust, knowing it. I didn’t see what was so interesting about sex. It leads to kids and that was enough to put a big stop to my curiosity. Not that I was curious anyway.

“You are a lucky girl,” Vanessa told me. “If he is gifted as his brother is, you will have the best sex experience ever.  You’ll will scream in pleasure when his mouth licks and sucks your pussy.”

I was speechless, stunned and shocked.  I didn’t dare to look at Peeta this time. My face was probably flushed and livid at the same time. It was disguting to imagine something like that.

She laughed.

“Virgins girls are so cute. They still don’t know what they are missing. I promise you girl. Your boy has perfect lips and  he‘s a romantic. He’ll be a great lover.”

“He isn’t my boy!” I replied a bit angry.

“Your loss Miss. Because I think you are the one…”

Peeta coughed. I turned my head toward him and he was embarrassed and a bit flushed as well. Suddenly, Vanessa lifted her leg and put her feet between Peeta’s legs. It shocked me, Peeta became crimson and she had a knowing smile.

“You are definitely the one… He probably pictured the whole thing in his head…” Peeta bolted from the couch and got up.

“Where is the toilet?” He asked.

“The door on your left boy.” He practically ran away toward the bathroom and I wondered what happened. Vanessa seemed to notice my confusion.

“It seems like the boy’s thoughts wandered while we were talking… He was hard just thinking about it.”

“What?” I refused to think more about her words.

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Boys are boys, especially young and still virgin… They grow hard real quick… Well when they are men and experienced too… But it’s not as cute.” She was rambling. “He desires you. You are the one he is keeping himself for. Lucky you. The boy is charming.”

My heart sped up and at the same time I was in panic. What the hell she was talking about? She was a mad woman.

“I don’t think it’s the… the… case,” I stuttered a bit. “We are not… I won’t ever… I’m not. He isn’t… You…” I clearly was too shocked to speak coherentely.

“Relax, Miss. It’s just sex and love. You should be happy. For most girls it’s just sex because love is…” She sighed. “Something rare.” She looked sad.

“I won’t ever have sex and love. I’m not interested.”

She shook her head.

“Why not… Sex is good and I can feel… there is a chemistry between you two. You had murderous eyes when he seemed to enjoy the sight of my body.”

“Nonsense. I don’t care!” I replied.

She smirked.

“Whatever. Why won’t you ever have sex? Such a waste…”

“I don’t want to marry. I don’t want to have kids. Sex leads to kids.”

She looked at me like I had grown another head.

“I’m a prostitute, I have sex all the time… I don’t have kids. It’s the same for all Cray’s girls. Cray doesn’t want her girls to get pregnant. So big news girls, there are ways to not get pregnant. Plenty ways in fact.”

 

I glared at her.

“My mother is a healer, and trust me, she had to care about girls who got pregnant by accident a lot,” I replied.

“Because the girl and the boy were not careful enough. There are herbs, condoms, even shots if you can afford them, and with a baker boy, I think you can… Cray provides the hob with condom boxes from the capitol, he makes huge profit. There are ways to enjoy a man body and to not get pregnant Miss. Or else the other guy you are always with… Hawthorne right? He would have been a father over a couple of dozen times and more…”

My lips thightened. I didn’t want to think about Gale and girls, or sex, or love.

“If you are both responsible, you can have sex safely. Think about it. I think it will do you good.. You are too uptight.”

“No thanks.” Why was Peeta taking so long in the bathroom?

“Oh come on, imagine Peeta’s hands on you, caressing you, his incredible lips kissing you, the warmth, the building thrill and pleasure.”

“Stop please. We didn’t come here for this…”

“Oh yeah you have a bargain to propose. I almost forgot,” She said. Peeta entered the room, at last. He looked composed and back to himself. He sat on the couch near me. I was really aware of his closeness. He smiled at me and my eyes wandered to his lips and then his hands and my heart sped up and Vanessa’s words thrummed in my head.  I could picture those words turned into reality and briefly wondered what it could feel like.  I was shocked at my thoughts.

“Vanessa,” Peeta spoke and I came back to the reality. Vanessa was still looking at me with a knowing smile. Like she guessed what was on my mind. I was so angry at her.

“If we came here, it’s because we have a deal for you.”

“Back to business,” Vanessa  said. “What can I do for you?”

I let Peeta explain.

“We need you to seduce, flirt with a boy, and maybe get a kiss from him, but nothing much. His name is Khaled Hofferson.”

She raised an eyebrown.

“What will I get for this job?”

“Katniss will hunt and bring you a turkey, some berries and I will paint something for you. Whatever you want.”

“Deal. I really can ask for anything, Peeta?”

He nodded.

“Will you be able to paint me on a beach, like the one we saw from the TV, the one from district 4?”

“Yes.”

“A sunny day, with light breeze, my feet inside the water, with a beautiful white dress?”

“I will.”

She smiled like she was offered a dream. She suddenly looked younger, innocent. I realized that she was not so much older than us. She was probably twenty in fact. She looked  older but at this moment, she was happy and dreaming about the portrait she had asked from Peeta and she looked totally different. She  had a hard life and Peeta offered her a perfect trade. I realized he knew she would ask for a painting. I wondered if he  knew that from when she met him, from when she was his gift.”

“Perfect then,” Peeta said.

“You won’t ask us why?” I questionned.

Vanessa shook his head.

“I don’t care. You don’t ask question in my kind of job. Not my business. But you have to set up a “meeting” with the guy. When you know, tell me when and where and I’ll be there,” She explained.

Peeta and I looked at each other and then we left. Vanessa’s next client was knocking at the door. She let us leave through the back door.

We were both happy to not be out of that house. The whole thing was embarrassing and shocking.

“Katniss, you will have to find out about Khaled’s routine,” Peeta told me.

“Yeah, I don’t think it will be difficult. I may ask more questions about him to Prim and since everybody told me to start to talk more to him,” I shrugged.

“Good,” he replied. “I guess there is nothing else, we can do today,” He stated. I nodded. He took a breath and said, “That doesn’t mean we can’t spend the rest of the day together.if you don’t mind?”  He looked at me expectantly.

I could used the free time to go hunting. After all, I needed to catch a turkey and pick berries. But a part of me wanted to stay with Peeta. My eyes wandered again to his mouth and then his hands. Damn that Vanessa. She planted dirty and  inappropriate thoughts on my mind. Peeta wasn’t interested and most importantly, I wasn’t interested. I was acting weird. We should part ways for the day. It was better.

“I have a turkey and some berries to get,” I told him.

“Oh.” He looked disappointed and before he could say something else I heard myself say.

“Want to come with me?”

A huge smile illuminated his face and warmth invaded my body.

“Sure! Let’s go!” He said happily.

What was wrong with me? I just asked a merchant to come with into the woods. This was wrong in so many ways. If Gale found out about this... He would be so mad at me. I should tell Peeta that I changed my mind. He couldn’t come with me. It was stupid, dangerous, and definitely not the place for a merchant to be. So why didn’t I say anything? I smiled back and nodded.

“Follow me,” I said instead. I felt excited, happy and strangely not like myself.  The worst of it was when he looked at me in the way he was doing right now… with such happy genuine eyes. I couldn’t care less about this being wrong or dangerous. I wanted him to come with me.

 

To be continued.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To begin, I want to thank my beta loveROMONIEandEVERLARK. She is fantastic and patient. Thank you to all the people who also take the time to write me a review. I really appreciate it. Don’t hesitate to write a review if you didn’t do it yet. Here is the chapter 9 and I hope you will like it. I enjoy writing the story, even if now I can only update once a week. Have a nice time

**Katniss pov**

We had just arrived at the entrance of the forest. I was a bit surprised to find out that Peeta already knew about the on and off fence. But I guessed it wasn’t a secret and a lot of district twelve people knew about it. They just didn’t dare to cross it. They were afraid. Peeta didn’t look afraid, but curious.

“My brothers and I never dared to go beyond here,” he  revealed.  I never would have thought the baker’s boys had actually crossed the fence. He looked at me and probably guessed my thoughts.

“We were younger and Jared, the eldest… Well, he got the idea we could escape. It was after mother got mad at us. But it started to rain, I was afraid and started to cry when Colin said that this time our mother was going to kill us and then he cried too. Jared had to bring us back.”

“How old were you?” I asked.

“I was eight, Colin ten, and Jared was fourteen.  Too young to run away into the wild.”

I tried to imagine it and I remembered when around the 74th reaping Gale proposed to run away and how impossible it was to do it. It wasn’t difficult to understand that the baker’s boys’  escape was doomed from the start.

“Two years later, Colin and I came back. We wanted to find some berries to help our parents.  It was Colin’s idea. He wanted to help and please mother and bringing berries seemed like a good idea. But we heard strange noises, perhaps a wolf’s howl, we didn’t know, maybe there was nothing and we got afraid for nothing. Anyway, we ran away and back to the district.”

I almost laughed but didn’t. They tried to be brave and it would have been unfair to mock them. I knew the woods because my father brought me here and he taught me all the things I needed to know about them. It hadn’t be easy to go there alone the first time, but it was not unknown territory. I felt more alone and sad than afraid, carrying the memory of my father and how much I missed him. The woods were our secret refuge and my play area too.

“I came back alone once, I was fifthteen and very frustrated with our old apple tree and its foliage. I wanted to see a real autumn’s foliage from numerous and different trees. To paint them. But I never went farer than this.”

It’s strange to learn and imagine that merchants dared to cross the fence, to approach the forest, and  even go inside. Who knew? We, the seam folk, didn’t see the merchants that way. They were the richer, the lucky ones, the cowards. The ones who obeyed the rules and lived a happy life.

We entered further into the woods.

“Are you a good painter Peeta? “ I asked.

“Not bad, still need practice, my dream is to be able to afford oils paints one day and good quality canvas. Until now, I’ve used watercolors and small canvases. They are cheap. The bookstore owner sells them to me for half price in exchange of an annual portrait of his children.”

“That’s nice of him. So you’ve got your own money then?” I was a little envious. The only money I ever got was for my family, for food, for Prim. I never really had money for myself to enjoy.

He nodded and smiled proudly.

“I have some. Some people give me tips when I have do the bakery’s deliveries and I also sell some portraits. I’ve managed a mini dowry to bring for my future bride.” He grinned.

. “Isn’t the bride the one that has to bring a dowry to her future husband?” I remarked.

“Well, why do we have to play by the rules? I mean, obviously here, in the forest, you are going to be the one to protect me from danger. You know how to hunt and how to kill wild animals. So, I think it’s only natural that I would bring the dowry.”

This time I laughed and he laughed with me. We eventually reached the tree where I hide my bow. He looked impressed and I was very proud. He approached to get a good look at it.

“Wow, I can’t wait to see you shoot with it.” He was so close to me that I could feel the heat that radiated from his body.

We continued to walk and I was very aware of him. I was used to being in  the woods with Gale, but it was completely different to be with Peeta. He watched everything with awe. He touched everything and was very loud. His steps were so heavy that it seemed like he was stomping and he was probably scaring away every animal around. I was annoyed and didn’t know how to tell him gently that he was noisy.

“Is something wrong?” He asked.

“Why?”

“You are scowling and you cringe each time I take a step”.

I sighed.

“Your steps are too heavy. It’s loud.  The animals won’t approach if there is so much noise. It’s not good for hunting”.

“Oh…uh… Sorry. I can wait here for you. It’s fine, I’m not eight anymore. If a wild bear or wolf appears, I’ll scream for you to save me. I may be able to wrestle with them a little or hide somewhere.”

He was embarrassed, I could tell even though he was playing it cool.

“I have an idea, I’m going to show you a place where you can pick up berries while I go a little farther to hunt. If anything happens, you scream and run or climb a tree”.

His eyes grew wide.

“Scream and run I can do. But climbing a tree… Will you teach me? I mean, I understand the idea but I never climbed a tree, not even our old apple tree. I tried, Jared and Colin tried too, but we never succeeded. So… if you have any tips…”

I sighed.

He wasn’t cut for the woods. Why did I ask him  to come with me?

“Okay. I looked around and spotted a perfect tree. I pointed at it. “See this one, it’s the kind of tree that is easy to climb. It has a lot of branches and some cavities.”

He nodded.

“Look carefully because you will have to follow my steps and do what I  do,” I told him. I started to climb the tree slowly. Then I sat on a solid, thick branch. “Your turn now. Take your time.”

He smiled at me. He followed my step but soon he was a bit stuck. He was too broad and too heavy. Gale was long and thin and had no trouble climbing a tree. He took his time.

“Don’t use only your arm’s strength, but your legs’  as well.” I advised.  He nodded. He was so focused but climbed so little. I wanted to help but I decided that he needed to do this by himself. If his life was in danger, he needed to know how to do it himself. But it wasn’t easy. His face was red and he seemed  kind of lost. He took big breaths.

“Will I get a reward if I succeed and join you up there?” he asked playfully. I rolled my eyes.

“You are not even half way Peeta. I don’t think you’ll succeed   and get a reward if there was one,” I said a bit amused. Honestly,  he looked like a bear trying to climb a tree. Poor guy. I almost felt pity for him.

“A good reward, could give me the necessary push to get through this  hellish climb Katniss. I don’t belong in trees,”  he said with puppy eyes.

“You can do it Peeta,” I insisted.

“So about that reward…”

He was stubborn. I rolled my eyes. He looked a bit desperate and maybe he did need something to motivate him. He really was having a hellish time.

“Okay. You will get a reward for the effort”

He smiled. “Can I choose the reward?”

I shrugged. He looked so stuck where he was and so miserable. But I didn’t move even though he could use some help. I felt a bit bad.

“If you want, yes” I eventually conceded.

His eyes twinkled and his smile grew larger.

“Great, I’m looking forward to a kiss.” I almost fell from my branch.

“What?” I said in shock.

He grinned at me.  Peeta mellark manipulated me to get a kiss. I scowled. A part of me was flattered that he wanted to kiss me, but another part of me was furious.

“You think you are smart? Don’t you?” I asked him, ready for my little revenge. Then  I started to climb higher.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” he complained. “It’s way too high. I’ll never reach it.” I grinned at him.

“No reward then.” I felt satisfied with myself. Minutes passed and he barely reached the next branch.

“Hey Peeta!” I called on him. He looked at me and I faked a yawn. I almost laughed again. But Peeta proved that he was a persistent young man, a stubborn one actually. He took his time and climbed with great caution, but he never gave up. Eventually he was about to reach me. He looked exhausted but he was there grinning at me like a fool.

“I did it!” He congratulated himself.

“You did,” I confirmed. We both sat on a huge branch. I hoped he forgot about the kiss idea.

“Oh wow, we are so high up here. I can’t believe I managed to climb so high”

He was really happy and I was proud of him. A lot of people would have given up, but not Peeta. And now he was going to get a kiss as reward. My heart sped up. I had never been kissed. I told myself that it was not going to be the death of me and maybe there was  a chance that I might actually enjoy it. Still, I was really uncomfortable and became extremely aware of him and his lips. I was about to panic over a kiss. I felt so dumb and so stupid and still I couldn’t help it. Peeta’s lips against mine… just the thought of it and my heart seemed to be in a high speed race..

“I’m not going to force you to kiss me if you don’t want Katniss,” Peeta said. He probably sensed my discomfort. I should have felt relieved but my heart plummeted instead.

“Oh,” was all I could answer. I was disappointed and didn’t understand why I felt like that. I also felt really silly to have been so scared of a kiss. It’s just a kiss... not the end of world. Plus, I gave him my word. I accepted the deal and I wasn’t someone to back off a deal. It’s just a kiss. There are worse things in life, like being reaped for the Hunger Games.

“I promised you a reward Peeta, and you earn it,  and I always honor my promises,” I said with conviction.  He seemed surprised and his eyes looked at my lips. My stupid heart started to feel weird again and my stomach was doing funny fluttery things.

“You sure? I don’t mind, I mean...”

“I am,” I confirmed. He seemed to hesitate and I just had to get  the stupid reward over with as soon as it was possible. So I moved closer and pressed my lips against his. I didn’t know what else I had to do, so I just stayed still. His lips were so soft and they felt good against mine. Suddenly I felt his hands on the side of my face. I got goose bumps all over my body. His big hands were on me and he was so tender as he kissed me back. His lips seemed to ask me to open my mouth a bit more and I obeyed because I was curious to know a bit more about kissing and because it felt so good. I moved my lips and then he sucked my lower lip and I did the same. It was a timid and  kind of clumsy kiss, but it felt like a perfect kiss to me. When our lips separated, I felt the loss. My heart was pounding like it wanted break away from my body.  Peeta gave me such a tender look  that I thought I was going to melt like heated butter as my legs feel like jelly.  It was my first kiss and the realization that I wanted another one shocked me deeply. I didn’t have time to think more about it or to do anything else  because Peeta whispered to me about some turkeys that has appeared below us.

I reached for my bow carefully. Shooting from here wasn’t going to be easy, but at least the turkeys didn’t suspect anything. I shot twice and got both of them.

“Wow. That’s amazing Katniss. I bet it’s straight through the eye,” he said. I frowned.

“The squirrels you trade with my father, they are always shot straight through the eye. Not flesh is wasted. Perfect shot,” he explained.

“Thank you,” I said. “We should get them before the smell of the blood lures dangerous animals.

“Oh my… How the hell will I get down?”  He looked  desperate.

“Just watch me carefully and follow my steps,” I told him.

“Easier to say than done.”

He complained and looked a bit scared. It was true that he had real difficulties climbing up there and because of me, he even had to climb a lot higher than I planned.

“If I die, tell–”  He started but I interrupted him.

“You won’t die, Peeta. I’ll back you up and if you crash, we’ll go down together. I know you can do it. We’ll just go slowly.” I tried to reassure him and before I could think better of it, I added, “And you‘ll get another reward once we are on the ground, if you need the “necessary push” to achieve the exploit”.

He grinned and nodded, “I’ll do it.”

I couldn’t believe my own self. But I wanted one more kiss. I wanted to be sure I didn’t dream what I felt. Plus it would probably be the last opportunity I had in my whole life to get kissed. I felt like a silly teenage girl, happy and ridiculous. I didn’t recognize myself anymore. But for once, I wanted to do something for me. I wanted to feel like a girl  and get a second kiss.  It was probably a chance that wouldn’t repeat itself. I was looking forward the last kiss of my life and Peeta didn’t seem to mind. I should have felt bad  about using him to experience things that I thought that were forbidden for me.  It took time and Peeta almost scared me to death as his left foot slipped twice. But we succeed  and got back down to the ground.

“I will never climb a tree again,” he declared. I smiled and felt shy. I was going to be kissed again and I couldn’t wait. There was no panic this time, just anticipation and the beat of my heart. I licked my lips and looked at him. He looked a lot more confident than the first time and there was another big difference. This time I let him kiss me first. I closed my eyes, felt his hands on the side of my hips, and instantly relaxed. I moved closer and his firm torso pressed against my breast and it felt just… extremely… good. I put my arms around his neck and we kissed more.  His kisses left me breathless. His kisses were heaven.

I realized, to my own horror, that I had a big unexpected problem: I loved kissing.

 

To be continued

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Katniss ‘pov**

I felt a bit awkward after the kiss. Peeta was looking at me with a huge smile and soft eyes. I started to freak out. Should I address what happened? And if I did in what way? To say what? I don’t think I could, so I decided to ignore it and walked away to pick up the turkeys.   The kisses were just  a game between us. Nothing to be upset about. It meant nothing deep. I had no reason to panic.  Kissing was good and I felt a bit shocked at the realization . I didn’t know how to react  but I wasn’t going to make a fool of myself . I was eighteen years old not a young girl anymore.  My life was not going to change because of two kisses. Delicious kisses, that was true. But just kisses.

“Now we need to collect the berries,” I suggested.

“Okay.” Peeta nodded then he followed me. I didn’t know what to say. I was embarassed. The kisses were replaying in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about  his tender lips, his supple tongue, and his strong yet gentle hands. I wanted another one and I needed to stop remembering those kisses.  I wondered what he was thinking of me. I acted really out of character and still I didn’t regret it. I glanced at him. He seemed deep in his thoughts but not embarassed or upset. His face was relaxed and he was smiling.

“Here we are, there are strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.”

“Wow, so much!” He came closer to the trees. “Can I?” he asked me.

“Of course, the woods, don’t belong to me. Eat some, they are delicious”. He picked some and ate some with a goofy grin. He looked like a child who had gotten the best gift ever.

“Yummy! It’s incredible to eat them fresh.”

I smiled and ate some too. We collected some for Vanessa and I took some for my family. Peeta did the same, but I got annoyed when I noticed that he really picked a lot. Why did he have to take so many of them?

“Stop!” I ordered him. “Don’t take so much, Gale will need some too. You can’t take all of them.” He froze at my words and I instantly felt bad. First, because I had no right to order him. The berries didn’t belong to me or Gale but it felt like it. Second, because I was being unfair, he was just taking more than Gale and I  usually collect but there were plenty left. I just felt territorial and I was thinking of Gale and how he was protective of the berries.

“Oh sorry,” Peeta said. “I … didn’t think. I wanted some for my brother and my friend Delly…and Dad and I got carried away.”

I was a jerk. I was stupid.

“No, it’s me. I acted like the berries are mine, in fact…” I shook my head, I wasn’t talking about Gale to him. “Take some more if you want.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. I have enough. It’s not good to be greedy”

I had spoiled the moment. I felt selfish and ashamed.

“Katniss, don’t be upset. I understand. You discovered it. It’s your personal livestock. I really understand.” He tried to confort me. How ironic, I was the bully and he was the one trying to make me feel better.

“It’s true Katniss. I reacted all the same way once. Delly had overused my watercolors for one of her drawings. I felt protective of them and I didn’t like that she had wasted so much.”

Except watercolors are not free like my berries, I thought. He took my hand gently in his and I  got goose bumps.

“Do you want another kiss so you will feel better about it?” he asked with a grin. I let go of his hand, outraged.

“What?” I squeaked.

He laughed a bit and grinned like a fool. Was he teasing me, mocking me? How dared he?

“Oh you!” I groaned.

He started laughing harder. I moved closer and he took a step back and then suddenly  started running away. I then began chasing him. Sometimes, I got so close I was certain that I was going to catch him. But then he sped up and got away. It happened several times until I understood that he was doing it on purpose. There was no way I could catch him. He had powerful legs. I was out of breath but was laughing so hard at the same time and other times so annoyed because he was playing with me. I hated the fact boys grew physically a lot stronger than girls. There was a time I was as fast as Gale and now, he is faster, stronger. It was upsetting. Boys grew stronger and I was still so petite and they were so tall.

“This is so unfair Peeta!” I yelled. I cursed myself for being slower than him even if it was not by much. I was fast but I was loosing precious energy because I was annoyed. I needed to focus, I knew I could catch him. Suddenly he stopped and I crashed into him. We fell on the ground. I was lying down on him. I was exhausted and he felt confortable. I didn’t move. I needed some rest. I was breathing hard.

“Wow, Katniss, I didn’t know you were a good wrestler.. Look at me down on the ground with you on me,” he joked.

I rolled my eyes and added a bit more pressure to pin him under my weight.

“Oh! I see…” he said.  Then suddenly, without knowing how it happened, I was the one on the ground with him on top of me.

“Remember  I’m a pro wrestler… You are still a rookie,” he stated. I scowled at his antics, but couldn’t deny my excitement. He was so close to me. I could feel his breath on my neck. His lips… I wanted them on my mouth again. I wanted to feel more of him and taste him and… was I starting to feel frustrated?  His eyes seemed to ravish me and a warm sensation seemed to take over me. I felt so hot, like I was a girl on fire. I wanted to resist. I really wanted to, but I was, no correction, my body was  attracted to him like metal to a magnet. My heart started to speed up again and my stomach fluttered. I felt like jelly. He was perfectly still. His body on top of mine. It was such a torture. I wanted to feel a bit more of him and I wanted another kiss. I felt myself breathing hard and I didn’t dare to move. When Peeta finally moved, he rolled off  me, got up, and  extended his hand towards me, offering to help me up.

I felt so… disappointed… and angry. I refused his hand and stood up by myself. I just felt denied. It was so stupid to be mad at him because he didn’t kiss me, because he didn’t hold me. I scowled at him.

He looked at me confused. He seemed to be at a lost.

“Is something happening between us Katniss?” he asked with caution and tenderness. My heart jumped inside my chest.

“No of course not!” I answered. I was too proud to admit that something was happening and it was too early to think that was the truth anyway. For less than a second he seemed hurt, or maybe sad.  But then he smiled at me.

“I won’t mind you know…if that was the case...” he started. What was he saying? That... That? No,  it couldn’t be. “But I’m cool being your friend too. I have a lot of fun with you Katniss. It’s different to be with you,” he tried to explain. “I don’t want to lose that. Whatever it is…just friendship or… more. I need this in my life…you know… you…”

It was very confusing and I flushed. All I could answer was, “Yeah.” What were we? I didn’t know. He seemed to propose to be something between friends and more? What was that? But he was right. Being with him was different than being with Gale or Prim or Madge. I didn’t mind having fun, true stupid fun with him. I liked running after him in the woods with no purpose other than simple joy. I felt happy running after him, even if it  ended up upsetting and annoying me. I didn’t often have fun.  Everything with Gale was always so serious. Survival, coal mines, responsibilities, our families, the Capitol. As for Prim… it was my duty to protect her, to take care of her. And Madge… We just didn’t talk much. Peeta was different and I wanted to enjoy this difference.

“Good,” he said and we shook hands. I felt happy. What we were? I had no clue and it was too early to tell. It was good and special and it was enough for now. I didn’t want or need more.

His stomach growled.

“Oh, I guess it’s time for lunch,” I stated. “I made some sandwiches for us.”

“Katniss, you shouldn’t have,” he said.  But his face told me another story. We sat and began to eat. We didn’t talk but it felt so great nonetheless.

“It feels like we are in a different country,” Peeta stated. “Here it’s easy to forget the district. I understand why you like it so much. It’s a real escape…a taste of freedom.”

I nodded.

“It’s easy to forget everything,” I confirmed.

“Yeah. I feel the same when I paint. The world around me disappears. Time passes and I’m  not even aware of it. I create my own world while painting. I feel free when I’m painting,” he revealed.

I wondered if one day I would witness it. I wanted to see his paintings and wanted to see him painting. I shouldn’t care but I wanted to know more about him.

“I never would have thought that Peeta Mellark was a painter at heart,” I stated.

He smiled.

“I’ve always used my artistic talent to decorate the cakes. So it’s something helpful for my family too”

“You are the one who makes all the pretty cakes. Prim loves to look at them.”  I didn’t mention that I loved to do it too.

“Thank you.”

“I like to bake, but I love to paint. I’m a painter and then I’m a baker, in that order. What about you Katniss?”

“Me?” I asked. “I don’t know... I love being in the woods. I love to hunt. I need to hunt too, so it’s a good thing and I really good with a bow. I like hunting with my bow.”

“You don’t sing anymore?”  he questioned. I was a bit shocked that he knew.

“How?” I was suspicious.

“Oh, we were five. At school, the teacher asked who knew the valley song and you volunteered to sing it for us. You wore a red dress and you hair was in two braids instead of one. You were so pretty and you sang so beautifully. I was only five and I was a goner. Your voice… even the bird stopped to listen to you.”

“No way… the birds don’t… I don’t remember that…” In truth I started to recall a little. I blushed and felt so ridiculously happy.

“Don’t you sing anymore Katniss? Your voice is probably even more beautiful now.”

I shrugged.

“Not really. I sing for Prim from time to time, when she needs it. She likes to be comforted that way.” I paused. I sang sometimes when I was alone, when I was  stressed or when I got good news. It was rare.  “I don’t sing anymore. It’s not the same since my fa... my father’s dead.”

“I understand. He had an incredible voice, too. He sang sometimes, when he came to trade with my father.”

I realized that Peeta had memories of my father. For some reason, knowing that calmed me. Someday I would ask him about them.

“Yeah. Did you know that my father wanted to marry your mother but she left him for your father? She was charmed by his voice. My father couldn’t compete with that.”

I was stunned.

“No way! It’s no true!”

“It is.  My father told me the story the first day of school. He pointed your mother at me and told me.”

There were so many things I didn’t know. It felt strange thinking about my mother and the baker. I didn’t know anything about my mother’s life when she lived the town live of the  apothecary’s daughter. Maybe… should I ask? Or maybe not.

“At first I didn’t understand why your mother would chose a coal miner instead of my father… But then I heard you sing. I felt like her.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I hope one day, I will have the honor to hear you sing again.”

I  felt embarrassed and I knew I had to be blushing.

“I don’t sing  often… not anymore.”

He looked at the sky.

“Do you prefer to hunt? With your bow rather than sing?”

I frowned. It wasn’t the same. I needed to hunt. It was a matter of survival. I liked to hunt too of course. I felt strong and useful. It gave our family something to eat and more independence. I remembered what he told to me about painting and baking. It felt the same for me.

“I like to hunt.” I suddenly felt very shy  to reveal something so personal for the first time to someone other than my father. Still I muttered the truth. “But I love to sing.” I never talked about it. Gale didn’t know and he was my best friend.

I wanted to hide.

He looked at me with such tenderness and happiness. There was pride in his eyes too. It moved me because I just confided one of my most precious secrets. I loved to sing and I missed singing. I missed singing with my father.

“You should sing then. Sing whenever you want. Sing about your happiness, your anger, all your emotions. I do the same, I painted them. I feel better when I do.”

It was strange to discover we had a lot in common. The difference was that he  acted on those things and I didn’t.

“Singing is useless in the world we live in. It feels inappropriate and I don’t know a lot of songs either. Just... a few old songs…”  I didn’t mention that I also knew one forbidden song that my mother didn’t want to hear.

Peeta seemed deep in his thoughts.

“You should sing whenever you need it. You will feel better. Your voice is a gift Katniss. Maybe you could write your own songs. Put your feelings in them. Make new songs.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I can do it.”

“You won’t know if you don’t try,” he stated.

With Peeta, everything seemed easy. I could try, secretly of course. I could sing in the woods where nobody but the wild creatures would hear. Why not? I never thought about it. My life had been a perfect routine based simply on survival. Peeta was opening doors of possibilities… Singing about my emotions, my feeling, to feel free. . I’d like that.

“So…  is that what you do with your paintings?”

He nodded. “Yeah, some are really private… and strange. They look like nothing to others but they’re something I need to translate. Sometimes they are about things I need to keep with me. Sometimes… about things I need to get out of me. I need to paint like I need to eat and to breathe. If I don’t I wouldn’t be entirely myself”.

I understood. There were so many times when I decided to not sing when I felt like it because it wasn’t appropriate, or because I had better things to do, or because it was useless, but mostly because my father wasn’t here to listen to me. But not singing left an emptiness in me. I wondered what my father would want and suddenly I just knew. He sang all the time. He probably sang inside the mines too. He was an excellent father, a good husband, a good friend, and a very great hunter. He was all these things and he had never stopped singing. I made myself stop singing. I had betrayed me and my father.

“Thank you,” I told Peeta.

“For what?”

“Opening doors…”

He frowned.

“What?”

I got up. “Let’s go. We have a turkey and some berries to bring to Vanessa.”

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody, thank you so much for the reviews and to follow my story. The previous chapter was romantic and maybe this one is more pragmatic? I hope you will like it and won’t be disappointed. As always a big thank you to my beta who is very patient with me. 
> 
> To make Katniss sing again or at least make her think about singing again was important to me. At the end of mockingjay, when she is stuck in the room waiting and she refused to eat etc, after Prim is dead, she is in despair and she started to sing. Always thought it was important for her. She sang a lot during that time. I think it was important for her to sing. ^^ In fact, Katniss and Peeta has both artistic souls.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mainly from Peeta ‘s pov. At the end, there will be some Katniss’s pov. I want to thank you every people who gave me a kudos and follows this story. Next chapter will be post in two weeks, so my beta will have time to dedicate herself to her mid terms. I hope you will like this chapter.

**Peeta’s pov**

What was happening between Katniss and me was like a dream. I kissed her twice and almost a third time, but I freaked out. I could sense that I was walking on a thin line with her. I didn’t expect her to reward me with a kiss. I really suggested the whole thing as a joke.

The kisses were perfect. I could really fall in love with her. I was already half way there. I’d had a crush on her since forever and if I wasn’t careful, I could fall head over heels for her. The only thing stopping me was that I knew she was dating Gale. I shouldn’t even have kissed her. But Prim told me it had only been a week since her sister started to date Gale. Only a week, not weeks, months or years. Only eight days. It wasn’t much.  I still had a chance but I had to be cautious. She had to choose and it was a battle I had to win. But at the same time, I wanted to play fair, the fairest possible. That was the reason why I didn’t kiss her a third time.

I didn’t know Hawthorne very well. He was a bit haughty but he seemed like a nice enough guy. He took care of his family and I respected that. I couldn’t help but think that maybe if they only started to date  a week ago, it was  more out of convenience than love. I wanted to believe that.

Anyway I was going to cherish the memories of that day forever. I kissed Katniss Everdeen. I was still amazed. She even seemed to flirt with me. Incredible. I didn’t want to think about Hawthorne anymore. I didn’t want to feel guilty but truthfully I couldn’t help it. Did I act wrongly? I didn’t want to hurt people. I knew how hurt my father was  when Mrs. Everdeen left him for her coal miner…

We were back inside the district 12 and I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t pay attention to what Katniss had just told me. So I smiled and I nodded.

“Good. You’ll see it’s not so difficult to shoot. We’ll  go next time.”

Was she talking about teaching me how to shoot with a bow? Damn, why I didn’t listen to her instead of daydreaming.

We were near Vannessa’s house when a kid’s voice called me. It was Delly’s brother who was running toward us.

“Peeta! I’ve been looking for you. It’s Delly. She asked me to find you.”

“Hi to you too, Anthony.”

“Oh, hi Peeta.” He looked at Katniss. “Hi Miss Everdeen.” She smiled back at him.

“Hi,” she answered gently.

“Why is Delly looking for me?” I asked.

“She wants to go to the mines to visit Colin. . He said they have a break around this time of day but she doesn’t want to go alone. She is too scared of the coal miners.”

“Oh, so she wants me to go with her,” I concluded. He nodded. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Delly’s unrequited love for my brother wasn’t healthy. I sighed. Who was I to judge when I was  basically in the same situation. Delly fights for Colin’s love probably in the same way I will for Katniss’. She couldn’t let it go. She loved him too much and Colin…  either couldn’t let himself fall in love or Delly wasn’t the one for him.

I looked at Katniss. I was embarrassed by the situation but Delly was my best friend. She had always been there for me.

“I don’t mind,” Katniss answered before I could say anything.

“Thank you. I’m really sorry to have to leave you.”

She shrugged.

“I have to go back home anyway. I will just drop our haul with Vanessa. It’s fine.” She was a bad liar. She minded. My heart sped up. She was enjoying our time together and was disappointed to have it end. I was too.

“Go find your sister and tell her I’m coming,” I told to Anthony. He nodded and ran away.

“I had a very good day Katniss. I really enjoyed being with you and I’m looking forward to more time to share together.”

She smiled shyly. I didn’t want to leave her.

“See you tomorrow evening? At our place, same time?”

She nodded.

“I have an extra turkey to cook,” she said. I moved closer and couldn’t help myself. I kissed her on the cheek. She blushed and I grinned at her. I wanted to hug her, I wanted to kiss her on the lips but I didn’t want to push my luck. I decided that I was going to court her at a slow and sweet pace. Katniss had to choose me but I didn’t want to pressure her. I wanted her to truly fall in love with me. Was it an unreasonable dream? Anyway at this very moment, I felt like everything was possible, Gale or no Gale. I was so full of hope.

 

I left waving at her. She waved back in a shy cute way.

Fifteen minutes later, I was with Delly and we were walking toward Colin’s work. She had made him a pie. I could tell that she was anxious.

“I made you one too,” she said.

“Thank you”.

“Anthony said you were with Katniss Everdeen?”

I nodded.

“That’s great! How is she? I always dreamed  of talking to her but she seemed a bit cold, is she?”

“Nope, she isn’t. I think it’s just a façade to keep people at bay.” I answered.

“She is so awesome. She hunts, her friend or a boyfriend is handsome and great too. They looked so… How to say? Well, they looked invincible like nothing can’t beat them.”  She was admirative. She wasn’t the only one to respect and admire Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne. They had an Aura about them. Some charisma. They seemed independent, strong, a pair of fighters. Many people wanted to be like them and like us, many people wanted to talk to them but didn’t dare. Now that I knew Katniss a bit better, I understood she wasn’t not so unattainable. She was not so different and she probably had no clue about the effect she had on people and especially me. I had to aknowledge it was the same for Gale Hawthorne. There was something about him. He was impressive. Suddenly I felt insecure. How could I compete with Gale Hawthorne? We were so different. Doubts crept up on me.

We arrived. The miners were indeed on break and they looked at us wondering why the hell we came here for? I spotted Hawthorne. He was with talking with another guy. I didn’t want him to see me.

“Colin won’t be here. Too much people.”

She agreed. My brother was not a social person and he certainly didn’t take his break with the others. He prefered to be alone. We walked away from the people and from Hawthorne as well.

We searched a little and finally spotted Colin. He was alone inside a barrack. We entered.

“Hey Bro.” I winked at him. He smiled at me and when he saw Delly with me I immediately noticed he was not so happy. But the Mellarks boys were good liars and Delly didn’t see Colin‘s annoyance. Only I.

“Hi Colin, I wanted to see how you were doing and the place you were working. I made you a pie.”

Delly gave him the pie.

“Thanks,” my brother said with a genuine smile. He was very fond of food.

I looked around.

“So Peeta, how do you feel being a bodyguard for Delly?” He asked me in a playful tone. I rolled my eyes. “I don’t mind,” I replied.

I opened by bag and gave them some berries. They were stunned.

“For you.”

“Where did you get that?” asked Colin. He ate one. “Wow, they are actually fresh.”

“They’re so good,” Delly declared. “Are they from Katniss?” she asked.

“Actually, I went to the woods and collected them myself. I got some for dad,” I answered proudly.

Colin was shocked, but before he could say something, Delly squealed, “Oh my, you went with Katniss? She showed you the woods? That’s so awesome.”

Colin blinked and looked at me.

“Katniss? The Katniss Everdeen? The ice queen who is always with the almighty Hawthorne’s Gale?”

I glared at him.

“She is nice Colin,” I replied annoyed.

“Are you hunting in Gale Hawthorne’s property brother?” he asked amused.

“A woman does not belong to someone Colin!” Delly snapped.

I nodded. Colin laughed.

“What?” I questionned.

“The guy has a fit because I’m working at the mines, like it’s forbidden territory for me and it’s just a coal miner job that he hates.  So I imagine how he will react when he finds out that a second Mellark is taking interest in his girl.”

He laughed even more and continued, “It’s going to be an amazing show. You can totally steal his girl away, by the way. Even if she’s an ice queen, I would bet on you. You can charm anyone you want with your ways.”

Delly smiled.

I shook my head.

“Oh don’t act like it’s nonsense. You know your ways bro. It’s too bad you don’t use them more because they are a true talent. What a waste. Am I not right Delly?”

She blushed and nodded.

 Then Colin added, “Peeta, Mother is going to be so delighted that you choose to befriend Everdeen.”

“I couldn’t care less about mom,” I replied. Colin sighed.

“I know bro... I know,” he replied. It was something that Colin always envied from me. He cared too much about our mother and what she thought of us and I just didn’t. I thought about things and realized even though we were three brothers we were very different. We weren’t  close.  Though Colin and I had grown closer these last two years.

Delly asked Colin a lot of questions about the mines. She was worried about him being here. Colin answered politely. I got a bit bored and looked at the window. I observed the mines’ surroundings. Maybe I could paint them. Suddenly, I saw Gale coming closer. To my surprise, he was with Prim and Khaled. I opened the window quickly and began hiding. “Hide! Lay down of the ground,” I ordered to Delly and Colin. They didn’t question me and simply did as told. We were all trained to do that. Something we learned to do when we didn’t want mother to catch us. It was reflex for us. Colin frowned.

“Don’t tell me mother is here,” he whispered.

“Shussh, trust me,” I told them. Colin and Delly were laying close to each other and I could practically feel the tenseness between them. But they stayed mute. I was just under the window. I didn’t know what to expect. I wondered  if they were just passing by and if I would be able to hear what they were talking about? Yes, I was spying, but I had good reasons. For Prim. For Katniss. We heard their voices coming closer and I got scared that they intented to enter the barrack. How the hell we were going to explain our positions? I had to find an excuse but they seemed to stop near the window.

“There is nobody here. We can continue to talk,” Gale said.

“I understand your fears Gale. But you are the only one who can help us. Katniss won’t follow us,” Prim argued.

“I always thought Katniss was a rebel, like you Gale. But, she isn’t like us. She doesn’t dare to take chance to change things and teach them a lesson,” Khaled added.

“Katniss is careful and she is right to be. She just wants to leave things in peace to protect you Prim,” Hawthorne answered.

I couldn’t hate him. He was defending Prim and Katniss.

“I know,” replied Prim.

“I have a lot to risk too. My whole family depends on me,” Gale explained. “Your plan isn’t good enough for me yet. It’s too simple and it needs more thinking. This is not the bakery you want to rob. It’s a much higher and dangerous target. We could be hanged for it. I don’t want Prim involved. Katniss would never forgive me.”

“Katniss doesn’t know who I am and what I want anymore. I’m not that girl who was afraid of going in the woods and hunt anymore. I’ll make her understand that I’m able to make my own choices!” Katniss’s sister insisted.

I glanced at Colin and Delly and they didn’t look happy. I glared at Colin and shook my head when I thought he was going to stand up and rush toward the trio to beat them. He still had a hot temper and real anger issues. He was clearly beyond mad to find out who had robbed the bakery. Delly took his arm in hers to calm him down. I breathed again. I would have a lot to explain later.

“You are the only one who can distract her Gale. She is crazy about you. I’m sure it would only be a matter of minutes for you to charm her and drag her to the bedroom. She is hungry for you, that girl… and she is pretty cute. You’ll give her what she wants so much and enjoy yourself at the same time,” Khaled  assured.

“There’s only one big flaw in your plan, Katniss will know afterwards. I know she will figure it out and I don’t want to hurt her that way.”

“Don’t sleep with her then. Just talk to her and be friendly. I think it will work all the same. She is so in love with you anyway. She’ll accept anything.”

I felt really uncomfortable. Who were they talking about? Could it be Katniss? But it didn’t seem so. They were talking about another robbery to come. A higher target than the bakery.

“I need time to think about it. We need a better plan too. I’m not against it, but the whole thing needs  a better strategy.”

“Okay,” Khaled conceded. “But there is no better way to strike the capitol for once.”

We heard the mine’s bell ring, signaling the end of the miners’ break.

“We’ll talk about it another day. There is no rush,” Gale told.

We heard them leaving and stood up. Colin was furious.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” I ordered him. I could be bossy when the situation  required me to be. “I’ll explained it all later. I have a plan in motion. Trust me”.

He nodded.

“You better Peeta. Shit, I’m late,” he complained as he left.

Delly gave me a questioning look.

“You knew who robbed the bakery the entire time,” she said. I nodded.

“If you need my help, just ask for it.”

“Okay Delly, but it’s better for now that you stay out of it. If I need your help, I’ll ask.”

She hugged me.

“Be careful.”

She didn’t ask me to explain. Delly knew that sometimes with the Mellarks, it was safer to not know, unless we wanted to tell. She trusted me.

 

**Katniss’s pov**

  I was in Vanessa’s living room, sitting on her couch. She sighed dreamily at me. “Ah young love. It’s so beautiful.”

I didn’t answer. “I saw you and your boy through the window. It was so cute how he kissed you on the cheek.”

I should tell her that Peeta wasn’t my boy, but I chose to stay silent. Maybe she would change the topic if I did. I just wanted to leave and go back at home. Prim was probably waiting for me, since school was already over.

“Thanks for the turkey, it’s a real fat one and the berries are delicious,” she said while eating one.

“You don’t like to talk much,” she stated.

“I don’t have time. I need to go home. I will contact you when I figure out a time when you can do the job.”

“I like you,” she blurted. “I have something for you, a gift. I don’t want you to get into trouble from not being prepared.”

I raised an eyebrow. I didn’t want something from her. I wanted to leave, so I stood up.

“Thanks but no. I really need to go.” She opened a drawer and took something small out. I was about to open the door when she stopped me and winked at me while putting something in my jacket’s pocket.

“Go, my next client will be here soon.”

I left her and after few minutes of walking, I decided to check what she had given me. It was two tiny plastic sachets. I didn’t know what they were until I read the word  “ _condoms_ ” written on the back.

I almost screamed out loud from shock. I looked around and I sighed in relief that nobody was around. I was probably red as a tomato. I put the condoms back in my pocket. I felt shame, anger, panic. What the hell was she thinking? The condoms seemed to burn a hole in my pocket. I had to throw them away. But my pragmatic side told me that two condoms would be good to trade. But how the hell would I be able to trade condoms? I was mortified.

I had to think about this carefully. I came back at home and nobody was there. I sighed. Prim was probably with Khaled. I didn’t like that at all. I really had to start to be friendly with him. I shuddered at the thought. But for now, I had to hide the condoms and decide their fate.

 

To be continued.

 

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

My computer crashed. I just got a new one. i won't post another chapter before next week. I'm sorry for the delay. But I'm now busy with the new computer and everything. 

Thank you and see you soon.


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